


Goldfish can't Live in Hot Water

by TheSeafoodMafioso



Series: Goldfish can't live in Hot Water [1]
Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Brief and irrelevant MC appearance, But first anger, Falling In Love, Humor, M/M, Slow Burn, Sports Arc that no one asked for, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:07:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 41,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24942808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSeafoodMafioso/pseuds/TheSeafoodMafioso
Summary: Floyd’s pouting face did little to assuage his anger as he swam around in rapid circles, tail whipping through the water with a force that reflected how utterly furious he was. Ordinarily, he might have beheaded someone by now. He might have yelled and stomped his feet until his face turned red, tyranny be damned. But in his current state, even that simple form of catharsis was lost to him.After all, goldfish didn’t exactly have feet.
Relationships: Floyd Leech/Riddle Rosehearts
Series: Goldfish can't live in Hot Water [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1911010
Comments: 142
Kudos: 391





	1. Boiling Point is not the Optimal Temperature

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vosien](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vosien/gifts), [kurousagi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurousagi/gifts).



> For my friends who feed my terrible Disney e-boy addiction.

Learning to live on land came with its own growing pains. Floyd Leech had adapted significantly well, perhaps thrived even. But, at times, a small comfort from distant, familiar waters, could go a long way towards fixing the mood of a temperamental merman, and Floyd often looked forward to this time of month for one reason in particular. 

“Ah, it’s here, it’s here~!”

The arrival of the hefty carton was expected at Octavinelle. Addressed to none other than Azul Ashengrotto, the package often varied in shape and size, but would always require no less than two hands to carry, just as it would always burst open at the slightest attempt to unbox what lay within. Without fail, the box would be chock full of delicious treats and goodies from the depths of the Coral Sea, all securely packaged and delivered to Night Raven College through the wondrous magic of the postal service. Sea-to-Land delivery was certainly a miraculous modern marvel that Azul’s parents never failed to take advantage of, much to their only son’s chagrin. Floyd was well aware of this, and kept a keen eye out, eager to be the first to reap his share of the spoils.

“Well, well, is it here already?” Jade Leech asked, as his brother heaved the heavy carton onto the table in the middle of Monstro Lounge’s VIP room. “Isn’t it nice of your parents to ensure you’re well fed, Azul?” He commented, turning to smile at the disgruntled dorm head, whose scowl cut as deep as the pen he dragged across his unfortunate paperwork with unnecessary force. 

“Yes, yes. How nice of them, conspiring to fatten me up.” Came the bitter response much to the Vice Dorm Head’s amusement, as Floyd and Jade exchanged toothy grins. It was no secret to either of them that Azul took great pains to maintain his physique, holding a long-standing grudge against his parents for feeding him a little too well in his childhood, resulting in his rather chubby appearance all throughout grade school. Copious amounts of self-restraint and dieting had long since fixed that problem, but Azul still had a weakness for snacks at the best of times, and this monthly delivery, no matter how well intentioned, was to him nothing less than temptation sent straight from hell. The recipient of the package hadn’t moved so much as an inch towards it, unlike Floyd who had ripped the box, ransacking it’s contents.

‘Uwaaaaaa~ There’s so much more than last time. Must be nice to have a family that works in the food business~” One year of regular deliveries later and Floyd was acutely aware of Azul’s mother’s habits when it came to picking snacks. She had her go-to’s, of which he had his own favourites. But she also liked to maintain a healthy rotation of new goodies, sometimes leaning into what was recently popular, or else picking obscure delicacies that no one had heard of. Bit by bit, Floyd began to load up his arms with transparent jars and well-wrapped containers. “Baby squid, stewed jellyfish...ah, sea cucumber! I’m taking these too~!”

“Floyd, those were sent to Azul. Don’t you think you should ask before you take them?” Jade scolded lightly, though it was mostly for the sake of formality. The twins knew all too well that Azul would rather not touch a single crumb, even if there were some of his favourites among the pile. Still, it wouldn’t do if Azul, for once, actually wanted a share of his own items, so Jade always made sure that consent was earned from Azul’s own lips.

“Eeeeeeeeeeeh~ It’s fine, isn’t it? Azul isn’t going to eat all this anyway, isn’t that right Azul?” Floyd asked, looking expectantly at the bespectacled dorm head who was sure to keep his gaze averted from the slightest sight of temptation. 

“You can have the whole box, so long as you don’t leave it lying around here.” 

“Yaay~!” Floyd threw his hands up with a triumphant grin, promptly knocking the entire box off the table and onto the floor. 

“And don’t make a mess in the VIP room!” 

Amidst cleaning up the mess of jars and packets scattered all over the floor, there was one in particular that caught Floyd’s attention; it appeared to be a coral or sea plant of some sort, though it wasn’t one he was familiar with. Soft and slightly squishy through the packaging, it was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, shaped like an oval with a fantail jutting out from one end. Dyed a brilliant shade of of red that faded to orange and then gold, it looked very reminiscent of a--

“Ah, a Goldfish!”

“Oh? It does look like one, doesn't it.” Jade agreed, pausing in the midst of helping Floyd collecting the fallen items to peer curiously over his twin’s shoulder. “It seems to be a new item. I don’t recall this having been present in any of the previous packages.” Indeed, Floyd didn’t remember this item, and the packaging didn’t really clue them in on what exactly it was either. Still, the shape and colour reminded him very much of a certain someone he knew, which was exactly what sparked the idea that popped into his head. 

“Hey, hey, hey, Azuuuuuuuul~ Can I give this one away to someone?” he asked excitedly. 

“Huh? I said you could have the whole thing, didn’t I? Do with it what you will.” 

From the look of Floyd’s exuberant expression, neither Azul nor Jade really needed any help guessing who exactly he might be thinking of. 

\-----

Perpetually drowning in responsibility was a default state for Riddle Rosehearts. He’d once believed that constantly being up to his neck in work was a virtue; his mother often said that idle hands were the devil's workshop, and having any amount of free time simply meant you weren’t working as hard as you could be. It wasn’t until recently that he’d come to realize how unhealthy that mentality could be, though, that realization had only come at the expense of him overblotting and being embarrassingly defeated at the hands of a a couple of first years. Riddle had learnt the cost of mindless tyranny the hard way, as well as suffering the physical effects of working himself to the bone both physically and mentally. Time had healed both sets of scars and paved the way for him to move forward down a better path. Still, habits forged by years of reinforcement were not broken overnight. 

Months had passed since the incident and Riddle was still struggling to find balance in his newfound resolution not to expect the unreasonable out of others, but more so, of himself. Drawing the line between reasonable and unreasonable proved to be more of a challenge than he’d anticipated. It was easier to keep track of things when Trey or Carter was around to remind him to slow down, to not run himself to the ground trying to do more than he should or could. But it was in the quiet moments when he was on his own that he found himself slipping back into old habits. Like finding himself in the library during the first half of lunch, starting on assignments that weren’t yet due for weeks. Like he did every other day of the week. 

It was probably fine. He reasoned that an hour was far too long to spend just eating anyway. Meals at his household were capped at a strict thirty minutes, enough time to consume whatever sustenance one needed to maintain their stamina until the next meal. Conversation, besides the expected yes-no-as-you-wish-mama,was mostly absent. Needless to say, Riddle found it difficult to maintain conversations over a meal for that long. When it came to tea parties, he could get away with sipping tea and looking dignified, but common meals were a different thing entirely. What did anyone even talk about besides homework and responsibilities? 

No, twenty or thirty minutes was more than sufficient to eat comfortably without the pressure of having to talk to anyone for too long. It wasn't that he was overworking himself. He was just putting his time to good use. That was all.

A wayward glance at the clock revealed that he had spent a few minutes more working than he’d intended to. That wouldn’t do. If he spent any more time here, he might not manage to eat anything after all. Gathering his belongings, the dorm leader was just about to leave when he happened to catch the eye of a passing professor.

“Rosehearts, good timing.” Professor Crewell called out, just as Riddle rose from his seat. “This is sudden, but I need someone to transport the Mandrakes from the greenhouse to the alchemy lab for this afternoon’s lesson. I reminded some others to take care of it yesterday, but it seems those belligerent puppies have neglected their responsibilities.”

The barbed edge to Crewell’s tone indicated that some poor forgetful soul was about to be thoroughly reamed out later. Having no intention to incur the alchemy professors' brewing wrath, Riddle nodded. “Are they stored anywhere in particular?”

“There’s a storeroom where I set aside anything that’s used for lessons. Have someone from your class assist you. It’ll be more than one person can handle.”

Well, there went any chance of being able to eat lunch today. At the very least, Riddle resolved to drop by the cafeteria to pick up something to tide him over till the end of classes for the day. 

The cafeteria was sparsely populated by this time of lunch hour, most students having finished their food and gone off to savour the last few minutes before the start of afternoon classes. Riddle’s gaze, intent on finding something small to eat, fell instead on a familiar head of aquamarine hair not too far away from where he stood; Jade Leech. His classmate. With some luck, he’d managed to kill two birds with one stone. 

“Jade.” With swift strides, Riddle approached Octavinelle’s vice dorm leader. It was unusual to see the merman seated alone, finishing the last few spoonfuls of his midday meal. Mild surprise at hearing his name called, quickly morphed into the polite, tight-lipped smile that Jade was well known for.

“Riddle, how may I help you?”

“Professor Crewell needs us to bring the Mandrakes up from the greenhouse for today’s lesson.” He explained. “Are you familiar with the storage room for alchemy materials?”

“If it’s the alchemy storage room right at the back then yes, I’m quite familiar with its location. Just a moment, i’ll go with-- ”

“Eeeh heh~ If it isn’t Goldfish~” Came the sound of a sing-song voice, emanating from right behind him, turning Riddle’s blood cold. A looming, humanoid shadow fell over him and suddenly Riddle felt very much like unwitting prey that had fallen into the sights of a stalking predator. He did not need to turn around to see who stood behind him. If anything, he didn't want to turn around at all.

In his haste to get things done, Riddle had forgotten that in this school, eels came in pairs.

When he did inevitably turn around, the sight that awaited him immediately made him regret it. There was the overbearing figure that inevitably towered over his smaller form, the gleaming mismatched eyes that always looked like they were scheming something and the smile that would almost be pleasant, if it wasn’t lined with two rows of razor sharp teeth. Every aspect of the individual before him set warning sirens screaming in his head.

“Geh, Floyd.” 

Floyd Leech. The bane of his existence at Night Raven Collage. Leech was all too apt of a name, as Riddle could literally feel his sanity and stamina being drained every time the Octavinelle student was so much as appeared in his general vicinity. Why on earth Floyd had such an obsession with him, he could never seem to figure out, but he had unfortunately learned the tenacity with which the other second year could hold on to that obsession. In their first year, Riddle had hoped that after some time, Floyd would simply get tired of bothering him. After all, he was infamously moody. But hope and pray as he might, Floyd never did grow bored, never failing to find new ways to push Riddle’s buttons and drive him absolutely insane.

“I didn’t see you at lunch today Goldfish. Did you lose your way?”

Goldfish. He hated the nickname with a passion, mostly because it felt as if Floyd was belittling him with it in some roundabout way. Goldfish weren’t particularly known for being intelligent, nor were they capable of much other than sitting in a bowl and looking pretty. Weak, small and vulnerable, there was nothing powerful or inspiring about them. It was the furthest thing from something Riddle would want to be associated with, and the fact that Floyd insisted on calling him that and that alone, irked him to no end. Especially since Riddle had made it clear on multiple occasions that there was nothing he liked less. 

“I don’t go out of my way to make my presence known to you, Floyd.” Riddle replied in a clipped tone, trying to sound as utterly disinterested as possible in the interaction as possible, despite knowing that it would do little to dissuade Floyd from pressing on with the conversation. As naturally as possible he tried to slide away, past the taller student’s reach. “I’m only here to talk to Jade, so if you’ll excuse me--”

Just as casually as Riddle tried to step aside, Floyd matched his movements, keeping him boxed in again the table. 

“Hm~? Why the rush? Are you trying to swim away, Goldfish~? You only just got here.” He swore, every time Floyd spoke to him, there was some sort of amused undertone that Riddle could only interpret as mocking. Floyd was not stupid; every move was calculated, every sing-song word a jibe directed at him, assumedly with the intention of making Riddle pop a vein. It took everything in his power not to lose his temper there and then, as he felt the heat in his cheeks begin to rise. He could almost envision his face beginning to turn red. 

Just like a goldfish, as Floyd often pointed out with a self-satisfied smile. The thought of his harasser being proved right in any capacity only irked him even more. If he lost his cool, Floyd won. So, Riddle forced himself to stay calm.

“Ah, that’s right~! Here Goldfish, i’ll give this to you~” 

“Huh? Wha--” Before he could put up his defenses, Riddle found that his right hand had been snatched up, something having been shoved unceremoniously into his palm. The second year stared blankly at what the other had left in his grasp. At first, the small, colourful object wrapped in clear packaging puzzled him entirely, until Floyd chimed in to explain. 

“It’s a snack from back home.” Oh, so that’s what it was. Riddle had never been allowed snacks as a child, or at least not the kind that most other children were familiar with. Packaged snacks in particular seemed to be by far the worst offender in his mother’s eyes. Riddle distinctly recalled the one time he’d gathered up his courage to ask if he could perhaps try a single potato chip, only to receive an hour long triade on the demons of sodium and artificial flavouring. Since then, Riddle’s desire to try anything of the sort had been entirely snuffed out, at least until recently as he started to learn to be more liberal with his dietary choices. After discovering the sugary delight of a strawberry tart would not inevitably result in his teeth rotting out of his skull, Riddle no longer held the same inhibitions. He regarded the strange snack with curiosity rather than revulsion; so even mermaids had things like this? 

“See, doesn't it look just like you, Goldfish?”

Goldfish. Again with the comparison he wanted no part of. Whatever curiosity Riddle might have had was immediately squashed by complete indignation, as he shoved the package back at Floyd with both hands. 

“I don’t want it.”

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeh~ But it’s a present.” If he didn’t know any better, he might have thought that Floyd sounded almost upset at the rejection. Instead of accepting that Riddle wasn’t having any of it, the merman pushed back. “It’s not very nice to return things you’ve been given you know.”

“W-Why do I have to accept any kind of present from you?!” He bit back, struggling against the strength of the much, much taller second year, whose reach with those lanky limbs extended far beyond anything Riddle could hope to fend off. A part of Riddle instinctively thought to use his unique magic, though sealing away Floyd’s magic would do nothing to dampen his physical prowess. Besides, the tangle of arms nearly twice the length of his own prevented him from even reaching for his Magic Pen. 

“Floyd, you shouldn’t trouble Riddle too much.” Said the other twin, who up until this point had been suspiciously silent and smiling, despite Riddle’s obvious discomfort. As much as Floyd and Jade seemed to play ‘Good Twin, Bad Twin’, Jade’s wilful indulgence of his brother’s antics made it clear that he couldn’t exactly be relied on to rein in his other half, as Riddle had long since discovered. The only reason he was speaking up at all at this point was because the time called for it. “Besides, it’s almost time for class.”

“Jade, I’m going ahead. I’ll meet you there.” Riddle declared, taking the opportunity of distraction to duck under the table and past Floyd, swiftly escaping before the merman could stop him. It was only once he was safely under the cool shade of the botanical gardens catching his breath that he realized there was an unfamiliar lump in the pocket of his blazer. 

“Really...”

Riddle didn't know if he should be incensed or impressed by this level of tenacity. His first instinct was to fling the offending package straight into the bushes, but he had always been taught never to waste food. Even if this ‘food’ was strange and unbeknownst to him, he couldn’t quite bring himself to break that well-reasoned rule. The low growl of his empty stomach reminded him that he hadn’t eaten anything else since breakfast, and once the rigour of afternoon classes started there would be no other chance to buy anything else till the end of the day. On the other hand, there was the matter of who exactly had given this to him. The cautious part of Riddle was wary that there was some type of trick or trap to the simple offering, though he very much doubted that Floyd was stupid enough to try to inflict any harm upon him through such an obvious and easy to trace method. Besides, a few spells to check for poison or any other type of malevolent magic and his worries could be put to rest.

Somehow Riddle could almost hear his mother in his head, her sharp voice, asking what on earth was he thinking to even consider ingesting such junk. That gave him the last spark of defiance he needed to tear open the package. 

Floyd had been right; on closer inspection, it did look somewhat like a goldfish. The texture was almost sponge-like, somewhere between the softness of bread and cake, though it felt and tasted nothing at all like the flour-based products he was used to. Riddle had a hard time imagining what on earth (or rather, what under the sea) this might have been made from. An odd combination of sweet and salty sat on the tip of his tongue, a flavour that he didn’t particularly mind. If anything, he might have even enjoyed it a little. Had the gift come from anyone else, Riddle might have thought to ask where exactly it’d come from, but seeing as that involved talking to Floyd, he decided the answer wasn’t worth the suffering it would entail.

“Riddle?” 

Jade’s voice emanated from the entrance just as Riddle polished off the last few bites of what would unfortunately serve as his midday meal. Right, he’d almost forgotten about Crewell’s task; the thing he’d originally been meaning to take care of before he’d gotten dragged into Floyd’s shenanigans. 

Turning his attention back to just that, Riddle stuffed the wrapper into his blazer pocket and for the rest of the afternoon, thought nothing of it.  
\-----

By late afternoon, Riddle was all tired out. It was no surprise, considering he’d eaten almost nothing during lunch and it happened to be club meeting day. Fortunately, today’s agenda was light. With the horses scheduled to undergo their routine health checkups, there wasn’t too much to do besides the regular chores. Trey once again, had gone above and beyond anything one would expect from a childhood friend or vice dorm head. Having noticed that Riddle hadn’t made an appearance during lunch, he’d stopped by before his own club activities to deliver a thoughtfully packed box of sandwiches and a thermos of black tea. Now that his duties for the day had ended, Riddle finally had a moment to sit down and eat. It felt like far too laborious a task to go all the way back to Heartslabyul at this time of day, especially when he’d have to come back out for dinner in a few hours. The weather was fine, so Riddle found a calm spot in the gardens to study a little and have his tea until it was time to leave. 

No sooner had he opened his book, poured out a cup of tea and bitten into an egg sandwich than he saw the skies above him darken ominously. 

“Goldfish~” Tilting his gaze upwards, for the second time that day, Riddle came face to face with one grinning merman leaning over him.

“...Floyd.” Simply remembering the frustration of their lunchtime encounter was enough to send a wave of exhaustion coursing through him. Riddle didn’t have the energy left to argue today, especially not with an opponent that seemed to drain all his patience at once. Grey eyes noted that Floyd was in his gym attire, despite being absolutely nowhere near the basketball courts, where Riddle assumed he belonged. Sweat glistened on his skin, the towel draped around his neck and the water bottle in one hand indicating that he might have been there at some point, though practice was not due to end for another hour or so. “What’re you doing here?”

“Skipping~” 

Somehow, that was entirely unsurprising. Floyd’s mood swings and resulting attendance records were infamous amongst the second years. It was truly a wonder he managed to scrape through their first year at all. Riddle hadn’t seen them himself, but there were rumours aplenty that Floyd’s test scores were either close to perfect, or just straight zeros from lack of trying; there was no in-between. At times, he’d heard Ace complain in passing how he would just disappear in the middle of basketball practice, sometimes even during important matches, with no absolutely no regard for the rest of his teammates. That lackadaisical attitude towards things that Riddle took so seriously was enough to make Floyd’s upside-down grin start grinding on his nerves. 

“Isn’t it about time for the inter-school match season to begin?”

“Yeah, but that’s boring.” Came the flippant reply, that in Riddle’s eyes warranted the harshest of scoldings. But before the red head could as much as open his mouth, Floyd cheerfully steamrolled the conversation right towards another topic. “Hey, hey, so, how was the snack?” 

“The what...?”

“The snack, the snack.” He repeated insistently, as if vehemently saying the same word over and over would somehow make Riddle understand what he was talking about. “The goldfish~”

“Oh.” Right. That snack. “It...wasn’t too bad actually.” He admitted. ‘What was it?”

“Hmmmm~ Don’t know. Azul’s parents sent it.” Azul’s parents? The thought of Octavinelle’s machiavellian dorm head having doting parents who regularly sent him care packages was more than a little jarring. Right. Sometimes he forgot Azul wasn’t just part of the ocean mafia and that they were actually the same age.

“Rather than that, what’re you up to Goldfish?” Without so much as warning, Riddle found the open book in his hands yanked out of his grasp. Floyd held the book up above his face by the spine, peering at the title despite the obvious yelp of protest from its owner. “‘Fundamentals of Transformative Magic’. Goldfish really doesn't know how to do anything except study huh~?”

“…What do you mean by that?” For some reason that statement got under his skin, nettling at something deep within his core. It was nothing more than a offhanded, mindless comment from someone who didn’t know anything of what he was dealing with, but to Riddle, it was a slap in the face to everything he’d been trying so hard to achieve. Floyd couldn’t possibly have known how much Riddle was struggling with his bad habits, his unhealthy obsession with perfection, how much he was trying to fix himself. And yet, here he was, being mocked. Or at least that’s what it sounded like to Riddle, whether Floyd meant it to sound that way or not. 

“Give it back.” He demanded, suddenly angry as he reached up to grab his book, only to find it lifted past his outstretched fingers at the last second. 

“Only if you can reach~” Floyd taunted with a smile, holding it up in the air at full arm's length, daring him to try to steal it back. Unfortunately, Riddle was in no mood to play games.

“I’m serious Floyd, give it back!!” Annoyed beyond belief, something in Riddle snapped as he grabbed onto Floyd’s shirt with both hands and pulled. But the brief satisfaction he felt when he heard the rare yelp of surprise from his tormentor was instantly replaced by a look of horror, as along with his book, he watched the open water bottle tumble towards him in slow motion. 

And then, all of a sudden, there was darkness. 

For a moment Riddle was confused, unable to grasp what was happening to him besides the fact that he just couldn’t see. His first instinct was to assume that Floyd had cast a spell and to reach for his magic pen, only to find that not only was it not there, but he couldn’t seem to feel his fingers either. A second later, he realized he couldn’t breathe. It was as if no matter how much he tried to take in air, all his effort earned him was pain. His mouth opened and closed erratically, breathing in desperate gulps. His body flopped wildly, his tail smacking against the-- wait, his tail?

All at once, there was light, blinding and overwhelming, illuminating mismatched eyes of gold and brown that seemed far too large all of a sudden. Someone was screaming at him, or at least that's what it sounded like to him. He might have been able to make out the words if only he hadn’t been so distracted by the fact that he was seconds away from suffocating. 

And then, with a soft plop, he felt momentary relief as water engulfed his being. But the feeling only for half a second as almost immediately, he felt his entire body be overcome with burning, white hot pain. 

\-----

“Which part of throwing me into hot tea sounded like a good idea to you?” Riddle might have been surprised by how loud his voice could be in this form, or how much he could carry on yelling, considering the fact that he didn’t actually have lungs. Honestly, he should have been surprised that he could talk at all, considering he didn't have vocal chords. He might have been surprised, if it wasn’t for the fact that he was too busy being absolutely livid. “Don’t you live in the ocean? What on earth made you think that I'd survive such high temperatures? Let alone, tea?”

“I know, I know, I panicked! I said sorry, didn’t I? You don’t have to keep yelling about it...”

“Sorry? I was almost boiled alive.”

Floyd’s pouting face did little to assuage his anger as he swam around in rapid circles, tail whipping through the water with a force that reflected how utterly furious he was. Ordinarily, he might have beheaded someone by now. He might have yelled and stomped his feet until his face turned red, tyranny be damned. But in his current state, even that simple form of catharsis was lost to him. 

After all, goldfish didn’t exactly have feet.

“To think that you would willingly eat an unknown item so carelessly....this is rather unbecoming of you Riddle.” Azul’s face looked contorted from behind the concave glass of the fish bowl as Riddle glared at him through his watery window to the outside world. As much as a fish could glare in any case. This wasn’t how he imagined spending his evening, swimming in endless circles in a tiny bowl, inexplicably trapped in a body that wasn’t his. One moment he was being harassed by Floyd and the next thing he knew, he’d turned into a literal fish out of water. In a mad rush to save him from death, Floyd had tossed him into the nearest liquid, which just so happened to be his cup of tea. Eventually, the merman had had the good sense to conjure actual water, but the trauma on Riddle's body and mind had already been inflicted. How on earth this could have possibly happened was beyond him. So here Riddle was, having no choice but to seek the help of a man who was infamous for knowing the answer to any problem.

“For the record, I did all the proper checks and nothing indicated that it would cause anything harmful.” He huffed, irked that turning someone into a goldfish apparently didn’t qualify as a harmful effect. “It doesn't matter, what’s done is done. More importantly, do you know how to undo this?” 

“Ordinarily it would have been far easier to formulate a solution if I had access to the item in question, but seeing as you already ate all of it and that was the only one we had on hand…” Azul pushed at the bridge of his glasses thoughtfully. “It may take a few days of research before I’m able to figure out what happened, let alone find a spell to reverse the process.”

“A few days?!” Riddle could already feel the headache coming on, nevermind that goldfish didn’t even have temples. “That’s impossible. I can’t stay a goldfish for days.”

“Why not?” Floyd piped up, seeming to have sufficiently recovered from the merciless scolding he’d endured from Riddle. He’d certainly recovered enough to pull out his phone and snap a picture of the bowl, holding up the screen so Riddle could get a good look at himself. Riddle swum backwards to accommodate for his strange new field of vision, finding that he had much clearer eyesight than he might have expected from a creature of this size. The image was distorted through the bowl, but Riddle could make out the bright red colouration of shimmering scales that matched his hair. Long, translucent fins and a tail that extended like a fan, faded from sunset orange to pure white. From the top of his head were two translucent strands that curved into a tiny heart shape, much like his hair. “Look, you’re so small and cute~”

Small and cute was not at all what he wanted to be, he thought as he turned away, looking back at Azul. “There has to be some way to turn me back before then. What about the potions you use to walk on land?”

“Those are made specifically with a mermaid physiology in mind, we can’t be sure how it would affect your body. Worst case, it might only exacerbate your situation. I know you’re panicked but you should know better than to attempt to use magic so recklessly.” Riddle knew as much of course, but the idea that he might actually be stuck as a fish for an unknown amount of time was not a reality he could simply accept. “At the moment, all we can do is wait and observe. Only time will reveal to what extent these symptoms will persist.”

As if his words alone had triggered some sort of magic, Riddle felt his body begin to burn. And then all of a sudden, he could once again feel himself being unable to breathe. 

“I-I’m turning back!” he managed to gasp just before his gills vanished entirely and he was left gulping nothing but water. He felt himself being scooped out of the bowl as his body began to glow larger, fins twisting and melding back into bone, scales knitting together and morphing into flesh. Whereas the transformation into a fish had been almost instantaneous, the process of changing back was much slower, and Riddle now could feel every painful moment of it with sickening clarity. By the end, Riddle was left sitting in a puddle on the floor of Monstro Lounge’s VIP room, flushed, panting and dripping wet.

“It would seem that the spell fades at the end of the hour.” Jade commented, having kept an eye on the entire situation from the sidelines. As Riddle had begun to morph back, Jade dutifully draped a large towel over the redhead’s naked form. It was a gesture that Riddle was grateful for, as he pulled it tight around his shivering body, having no desire to lose his dignity along with his temper. “I had a feeling that something like this might happen so I made sure to have your belongings on hand.” Indeed, his clothes, magic pen and other belongings were neatly set aside on the coffee table, awaiting their owner’s return. 

“Is...is it done? Is that the extent of the magic?” Riddle asked cautiously as Azul and Jade exchanged uncertain glances. Even without them telling him, he understood that at the moment that there was no way for them to tell. With a sigh, Riddle started to stand, feeling a dull ache in his newly formed legs. “If you can’t tell me then I suppose i’ll just have to be careful until--”

“But we can check right now, can’t we?” Floyd’s guileless tone should have been warning enough, as Riddle’s confusion quickly turned to horror as he watched him pick up the half-filled fish bowl with both hands.

“Wait, Floyd--!”

Splash!

Beyond the cold of the water and the lack of air that once again consumed his being, all Riddle could feel was overwhelming, blinding rage.

\-----

“I’ve seen dorm head Riddle off to his Mirror.” Jade reported as he finally returned to Octavinelle after what had been an extremely eventful night. “He gave me an earful all the way until he went back to his dorm.” And that wasn’t counting the whole hour he’d spent yelling as a fish. Even as a tiny sea creature, Riddle somehow still managed to be ferocious as ever. “It seems as if you’ve really upset him this time, Floyd. He might not forgive this so easily. I’m honestly amazed he hasn’t outright beheaded you.”

“It’s fine~ Goldfish is always angry for some reason.” Floyd replied, far more carefree than he should have been considering he had been the catalyst of this entire mess. His gaze shifted sharply over to Azul who was busy pouring over some books, already hard at work trying to solve the problem at hand. 

“Hey Azuuuuuuuuuuul~ How long will it really take you to fix Goldfish?” Of course, both twins knew that Azul had a habit of keeping his cards close to his chest. If he said he needed a few days to do something, he was almost certainly underselling his abilities.

“All things considered, my research shouldn’t take more than a day or two.” The silver haired merman admitted, knowing the twins weren’t about to be fooled. The answer however, seemed to greatly dismay Floyd who was quick to cry out in protest.

“A day?! Aw, but that’s not enough time! I want to play more with Goldfish while he’s actually a goldfish!” He whined. “Azuuuuuuuul~ Can’t you take a few extra days?”

‘Really Floyd, Octavinelle’s position among the houses has been shaky since the...incident.” Azul huffed with crossed arms, elaborating no further on the one time in recent memory when he’d overblotted. “We’ve had our hands full with Monstro Lounge’s reopening and there’s still so much else left to do. We have more than enough on our plate without this.’ The glare he cast at Floyd conveyed the intensity of his disapproval, which only served to make Floyd’s expression twist in displeasure. “Did you really have to drag us into something so troublesome at the most inopportune time?”

“Eeeeeeeh~ But I didn’t even do anything!” 

“Azul, Floyd didn’t intend for this to happen.” Jade spoke up in his twin’s defense “It’s as you said, this particular product was unfamiliar to all of us. Riddle being involved was no more than an unfortunate happenstance. But now that’s been said and done, don’t you think it would be beneficial to have the leader of Heartslabyul in your debt? You’re not making a contract this time because it was our mistake to begin with, but you can certainly still stand to gain something out of this. ”

“Seeing as one of our own is responsible for this situation in the first place, I don’t see how much of a debt we could possibly earn.” The silver haired dorm leader scoffed, unconvinced. However, behind tinted lenses, Floyd could see the perpetual business-minded cogs in Azul’s brain turning. He grinned at Jade, knowing that his brother had artfully tipped the scales in his favour. Jade really was the best sibling he could have asked for. “But...you are right. The longer this takes the more desperate Riddle will become, and that might certainly be useful in earning a favour or two from him...”

Hook, line and sinker. Azul could never pass up the opportunity to make a good deal. 

“Well...I’ll take care of this at my own discretion, but for the record i’m not doing this for you Floyd.” Azul made absolutely clear, though he could wipe the small, devious smirk that tugged at his lips. “Though, I’m sure if you’re intent on having your fun, it’ll only be a matter of time before Riddle snaps,”

Between Jade’s caution and Azul’s scheming, the thought of milking the most out of Riddle’s newfound affliction set Floyd’s heart racing with excitement. Even if it wasn’t going to last for long, from now until this was all over, their daily lives were going to be irrevocably intertwined. And so long as that was the case, Floyd was intent on having as much fun as he possibly could.


	2. Overfeeding will cause Problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’ve requested that my mother send another one as fast as possible, but even with priority delivery it’ll take a while before it gets here. For that reason, in order to better understand the coral’s effect on your body, I’ll need to conduct some hands-on research.” Hands-on research. He did not like the sound of that in the slightest. He liked it even less when he realized that all three members of the Octavinelle trio were smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told myself this chapter would be shorter, and it was. Just barely.

Rule number 48 of the Queen of Hearts, “One shall not rise later than 8.27AM on a weekend” lay utterly shattered, as Riddle opened his eyes to find daylight already streaming in at full force through the cracks in his curtains. His alarm had gone unheard, and he supposed no one had been brave enough to wake him. Or perhaps Trey had simply allowed him to continue sleeping for once. Stretching his limbs, a dull ache tugged at his muscles, leftover exhaustion from the previous days happenings. 

Ah, right. The memory of why he was feeling so out of sorts came rushing back all at once, sending a fresh wave of anger coursing through him. A part of him wanted to lie there under the covers until all this was over, rather than having to deal with the massive headache that would inevitably result from having to deal with it. But minor inconveniences like this didn’t excuse him from his duties as dorm head, and Riddle would be damned if he let someone else shenanigans throw Heartslabyul into disarray. Riddle was no longer a tyrant, but that hadn’t lessened his diligence as dorm head. That surge of determination was enough to pull him out of bed and set him straight to work. 

Thankfully, it was the start of the weekend, a small grace that ensured Riddle wasn’t left running horribly late for classes. On the other hand, what he did have to deal with were the questioning glances from those within his dorm who whispered in confusion and stole fleeting glances when they thought he wasn’t looking. Riddle's habits and daily routine had more or less been beaten into their skulls, mostly so that the residents of Heartslabyul could avoid their authoritarian dorm head and any chance of incurring his wrath. He hadn’t realized how fast rumours and concerns would start to ripple from the simple fact that he was straying from the norm.

“Are you alright, Riddle? Your voice sounds a little rough.” Trey asked worriedly when the two met to discuss dorm matters that afternoon. Unprompted, his childhood friend pressed a palm to his forehead. “You’re not catching a cold are you?”

“I’m fine.” Riddle said hastily, brushing away the third year’s hand, though his tone leaned towards reassurance rather than irritation. If his voice sounded hoarse, it was no doubt from all the yelling he’d done the previous day, both as a human and a fish. Honestly, considering how enraged he’d been, the fact that Riddle was still talking at all was a minor miracle.

“I didn’t see you at dinner. And I noticed you didn’t return to the dorm until much later than usual.” Trey added, seemingly not put at ease despite Riddle’s insistence that he was fine. “You didn’t even ask for your evening Herb Tea. Riddle, you know you can tell me if anything’s troubling you, right?”

‘Well, to be honest, I ate some strange seafood and now I sporadically turn into a fish’, was not an answer he could give in this situation, even if it was the truth. Riddle knew that if he unloaded his troubles onto Trey, Trey would go through hell or high water to help him. That was not a burden that his childhood friend should have placed on his shoulders, especially since the cause of this whole mess was Riddle’s own carelessness. Ever since he’d overblotted, Riddle had become acutely aware of the pressure he’d unwittingly put Trey under with his blind insistence on following the rules. Even now, realizing his mistakes, he couldn’t begin to fathom just how much Trey had to work to ensure that morale at Heartslabyul hadn’t simply gone up in flames since he’d become Dorm Head. The guilt of not realizing that earlier still wracked him to his core. For that reason alone, Riddle had no desire to involve his Vice Dorm Head in his own personal problems. Besides, this wasn’t a problem that Trey could help with. Not when the subject was outside his area of expertise. 

“I just spent a lot longer at the library than I intended to. That’s all.”

For a fraction of a second, Riddle could have sworn he saw a flicker of uncertainty cloud Trey’s expression. Perhaps it was a mere trick of the light, because it just as quickly vanished, replaced with a small smile and a sigh. “Well, alright, if you say so. But you shouldn’t be pushing yourself or skipping your meals, you know that right?”

Bullet dodged, for now. Riddle wondered how long he was going to be able to avoid Trey discovering his predicament, especially if it was going to take Azul a while to find a way to fix things. To that end, Riddle decided to do his own research on goldfish; after all, considering he could become one for the time being, he should very well know what he was getting into.

From what he remembered of the picture Floyd had taken, Riddle was able to narrow down his species of Goldfish to the Fantail, named for their flowing tails that appeared to fan out elegantly behind them as they traversed the water. It was one of the most common species of goldfish, and biologically perhaps one of the most simple species. If the fantail’s tail was extra long, the fish had what was called a “ribbontail”, which was what Riddle assumed he had by the looks of it, though the additional length didn’t really seem to improve mobility in any way. Even Riddle had to admit that they did look rather beautiful; in videos they seemed to possess an almost ethereal quality, fins and tail rippling through the water with every little movement, metallic orange-gold scales shimmering in the light. It made sense why they were popular as ornamental fish, and yet, just as Riddle had suspected, that was all that they were really good for. They didn’t seem to have any other special traits, nor did they seem to be particularly intelligent. After all, how intelligent could a species that didn’t stop eating even if they were overfed be?

Biologically speaking, the species did seem to have some advantages; as he’d found out firsthand, their vision was far better than he’d anticipated. Apparently Goldfish had a superior perception of colour and could see very well, though the clarity of their vision was only limited to about fifteen or so feet ahead of them. They could identify predators or prey by the way the light reflected off their scales or through the water’s surface. They couldn’t see in the dark, but they possessed a strong sense of smell and an ability to feel tiny pressure changes in the water that allowed them to navigate without light just fine. They could hear despite not having ears like humans, possessing a small, concealed inner ear that responded to vibrations. Despite being rather small and unassuming, Fantails seemed to be surprisingly hardy, able to survive higher temperatures, though nowhere in his research could he find anything about them being able to survive in hot tea. 

Goldfish could also spawn up to one-thousand fry at a time-

Well, that was quite enough research for one day.

Mentally drained from reading about himself, Riddle leaned back in his chair for a brief reprieve just as his phone began to ring. 

“Good afternoon, Riddle. I hope that you aren’t experiencing any inconveniences from yesterday's...events.” Hearing Azul’s business-like tone was displeasing, even if Riddle himself was the one who’d asked for his help. For some reason, the overly polite, artificially cheerful quality his voice took on instinctively made Riddle want to suspect his intentions, even if he hadn’t actually done anything to earn that distrust...yet. 

“It’s been...fine. I was a little tired when I woke up but it doesn't seem to be anything more than mere exhaustion. Though, it is somewhat inconvenient being unable to shower.”

“Ah, yes. I can see how that might be a little problematic. Fortunately I might be able to provide some assistance in that matter if you wouldn’t mind stopping by at Octavinelle later this evening. Once the dinner rush at Monstro Lounge is over and done with, my time will be all yours.” A part of Riddle felt a knot of anxiety twist within him at the thought of having to go till the evening having made no progress. Every fiber of his being wanted this over and done with as soon as possible, though he understood better than anyone the responsibility that came with being at the helm of a dorm. It wasn’t as if Azul could simply throw everything to the side and dedicate all his time to solving Riddle’s predicament. As much as he wished that that were the case, as a fellow Dorm Head, it would be utterly unreasonable to expect that of him. 

“...I understand.” He responded finally “Until later then.”

\-----

“Goldfiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish--”

‘Stay away from me, unless you intend to spend the rest of the semester beheaded.” Riddle warned, magic pen drawn and pointed at the incoming menace, who looked far too cheerful and unashamed to be properly repenting for his actions, as he should have been. The threat he growled in the merman’s direction was mostly empty, because Riddle knew better than anyone that sealing away his magic wasn’t going to make Floyd any less annoying. 

“Uwaaaaah~ Goldfish is so scary.” Floyd whined, hiding behind his brother, though his toothy grin betrayed the fact that he was not at all in any way afraid of Riddle’s wrath. If anything, Floyd was enjoying this experience immensely, at Riddle’s complete expense. 

“Let's cut to the chase then. I don’t want to spend more time here than necessary.” He said quickly as he took a seat on one of the leather couches in Monstro Lounge’s VIP room where the four of them had gathered. Within seconds of arriving, he could already feel his blood starting to boil, a feeling that would no doubt only grow the more he was forced to interact with a certain human-shaped eel. Besides, sneaking out of the dorms at such a late time had not been easy. He was certain that he’d been careful enough that no one had seen him, but considering Trey already seemed worried this morning, Riddle didn’t want to leave any more room for his secret to be discovered. “Did you manage to find out anything about that...thing, I ate?”

“Well, yes and no.” Azul began, pushing up his glasses in an ominous manner that already gave Riddle a bad feeling about where this was going. “I have pinpointed the culprit behind your transformation as being Anthozoa Auratus, or more commonly put, the fantail coral.” With a wave of his magic pen, Azul conjured up an image of the coral in question that undoubtedly looked like the snack Floyd had given him the previous day. “You can see how it gets its name; it’s orange-yellow colouration, along with its unique shape, is highly reminiscent of the Fantail Goldfish. Apparently, eating this coral as a snack is the latest fad amongst mermaids in the Coral Sea. It has unique magical properties that temporarily dyes your tail with the colours of this coral, the colours of a goldfish. It’s a temporary cosmetic change, nothing more. From what I’ve managed to find, it’s effects only last for a few days before the colour fades naturally.”

‘Does this mean the effects will only last a few days in my case?” Riddle asked, hopeful.

“Well...not entirely. In your case, the effects are entirely different. No mermaid has ever turned into a goldfish from consuming the Fantail Coral. In fact, from what I’ve managed to find, it’s such a rare product that it seems no other human has tried it before. I’m sorry to say Riddle, but you appear to be the first of your kind, a wholly unique case. Which means unfortunately, I have no frame of reference when it comes to gauging the extent of the coral’s effects on you.”

Just as quickly as he’d felt his hopes rise, Riddle felt them plummet right back to the pit of his stomach in despair. “Well...then what do you plan to do?”

“I’ve requested that my mother send another one as fast as possible, but even with priority delivery it’ll take a while before it gets here. For that reason, in order to better understand the coral’s effect on your body, I’ll need to conduct some hands-on research.” Hands-on research. He did not like the sound of that in the slightest. He liked it even less when he realized that all three members of the Octavinelle trio were smiling. 

“What...exactly do you need to research?” Riddle asked cautiously, feeling very much like a tiny fish that had accidentally swam into shark infested waters. Or, more accurately, two-eels-and-a-conniving-octopus infested waters. 

“Oh, nothing much.” Azul replied innocently as Riddle watched Jade start to pull something out from under the desk. A tall pitcher of water, several glasses and several other cartons of...liquids. It didn’t take too long for things to click in his head. “Since your human body seems to have reacted very differently to the coral, we need to test just what triggers the coral's effects and what doesn't. Right now, all we know is that you turn into a Goldfish when splashed with water; clear water at room temperature, to be precise. What we need now is to test for variations of that.This will help you adjust to living with your new state of being just as much as it will help me find a cure, Riddle. After all, I assume you haven't even taken so much as a sip of water today?” 

This was true. Riddle hadn’t known how far the effects of his curse went, and had been afraid to touch a single drop of any liquid, lest he transformed into a flopping mess on the floor. What Azul was saying was perfectly logical, even if he was trying to soften the blow of what was really going to happen in a rather roundabout way.

“So in simpler terms,” Riddle said, pinching the bridge of his nose, already exhausted. “You’re going to spend the rest of today throwing water at me.”

“...More or less, yes.” At least he was being honest about it.  
\-----

So Azul hadn’t been entirely honest. 

The experiment had started out simple enough, with things that Azul didn’t really think would trigger the transformation. They started with different amounts of water, testing how much exposure would be needed before Riddle turned into a Goldfish. Dipping his pinky into a glass of water expectedly did nothing, nor did applying a drop of water to any other part of his skin. It seemed as if he needed to be significantly soaked, a glass of water flung in his direction eventually doing the trick. An hour later, the experiment shifted towards testing for temperature, where they proved that goldfish could not indeed survive in hot water, and splashing Riddle with it did nothing but leave him soaking wet. That was a relief at least; Riddle hadn’t known what he’d intended to do if it turned out that he couldn’t bathe for a few days. 

Once they’d discerned that the water had to be room temperature or colder, the final phase of the experiment involved ascertaining if other liquid based products also triggered the transformation. Using the rules on quantity established during the first part of the experiment, they cycled through a variety of products; namely, juice, cola, tea, so on and so forth. This was by far Riddle’s least favourite part of the entire ordeal, though unsurprisingly it was also the part that Floyd seemed to find the most joy in.

“Eeeeh, but you should be grateful, Goldfish! These are all supplies from Monstro Lounge you know. We got them all out for you~”

Needless to say Riddle spent a good long while yelling at Floyd about how he wasn’t about to be grateful to anyone for dousing him in milk. 

After three whole transformations, experiments were finally called to an end for the day, which was a relief considering that every transformation had left Riddle feeling increasingly exhausted. Azul had explained that the transformations drew on his own magic, so it was little wonder that repeated transformations left him so tired. Thankfully, the feel of hot water against his skin was doing wonders, the soft thrum of the running shower washing away seeming to wash away every bit of his fatigue. With Azul’s permission, he’d borrowed the showers at Octavinelle, having no intention of returning to his own dorm smelling of various beverages. Eventually, his skin began to wrinkle from spending so much time in the shower, and Riddle regretfully had to call an end to his brief but peaceful reprieve.

“Goldfish, are you doneeeeee~?” Riddle jumped, hearing Floyd’s voice drift in through the adjacent changing room, pulling the towel around himself tighter on instinct. “Jade had your clothes washed while you were in the shower~”

“T-That’s’ fine, just leave them at the door. Don’t come in!” 

“Eh~ Can’t I?” The mischievous edge to Floyd’s tone sent his heart straight to his throat, as Riddle held his magic pen at the ready, fully intending to unleash hell if saw so much as a peep of the merman through the door. Thankfully, and surprisingly, Floyd seemed to understand the importance of respecting someone else's privacy and Riddle heard the distinct crinkling of clothes and footsteps retreating. He made sure to peek through the crack in the door, confirming that Floyd was nowhere in sight before snatching up his clothes and retreating quickly back into the bathroom. He dressed in silence, thinking that he was finally rid of the perpetual menace, only to find that Floyd was still right outside, waiting for him.

“Are you done Goldfish? Do you need any help?” Came the completely unwanted display of helpfulness from the cheerfully smiling eel before him. “I can dry your hair~”

“As if I’d trust you to dry someone else's hair.” Riddle scoffed, ruffling at damp red locks with a towel. “You’d only mess it up.”

“Ehhhhhhh~ But I can do it though! I’ve helped dry Seagull’s hair before-- geh. Seagull.” 

“Seagull?” Riddle was well aware of Floyd’s tendency to give people strange nicknames based on marine creatures, his own nickname being case in point. This particular one didn’t seem to ring a bell. “Who’s that?”

“Nevermind...I don’t feel like talking about it anymore.” The smile that had lit up Floyd’s face only a second ago had turned into a heavy scowl that cut creases of distinct unhappiness across his face. There it was, Floyd’s infamous moodiness. Riddle had witnessed it from time to time, never quite able to get used to the whiplash that came with his sudden turn of emotions. With how worn out he felt after all that experimenting, Riddle didn’t quite feel like dealing with it either.

“Anyway, what’re you still doing here?” He asked irritably, adjusting his tie before setting down the towel. “We’re done for the day aren’t we? I can find my own way back, you can go now.” It didn’t matter that his hair was still damp; he’d have plenty of time to dry in peace back at Heartslabyul. Riddle was eager to leave, though it seemed that Floyd intended to do everything in his power to stop that from happening.

“Caaaaan’t~” Floyd insisted, blocking Riddle’s way. “Azul said transforming takes up a lot of energy and that we need to make sure we feed you before you go back~”

“I can feed myself, thank you very much.” Came the clipped response. “Why do you have to escort me anyway?”

“Azul’s researching~ And Jade was ambushed by some first years for some reason I don’t know, sounds boring.” Riddle attempted to side-step the towering eel, only for Floyd to match his movements exactly. Hit with a sense of dejavu, Riddle recalled the results of yesterday’s dining hall encounter, gritting his teeth as he realized he knew exactly how this scenario was going to play out. Fingers curled around his magical pen, seconds away from hitting Floyd with a spell or two that he honestly had coming. 

“You’re really asking to be beheaded....”

“Eh, what’s this? A fight?” Excitement flooded Floyd’s voice, though the merman’s hands didn’t so much as leave his pockets. “Ahaha~ Sounds like fun~ I don’t really think I’d lose to Goldfish though.” 

There was something about the way that Floyd smiled, the subtle hint of danger in his tone that seemed to turn menacing right at the end. It sent simultaneous waves of alarm and irritation coursing down Riddle’s spine. Was that a challenge? Was Floyd underestimating him? Despite having earned the title of Dorm Head in his first year, why was he being treated as an unworthy opponent? Why was it that every time, Floyd seemed to undermine everything that Riddle had worked so hard to achieve, with no more than a flippant phrase or a throwaway sentence? It was more than Riddle could bear as he felt his temper reach its peak, magic coalescing around the red jewel inlaid at the head of his pen.

The exhaustion hit him like a physical force, so sudden and overpowering that he very nearly dropped his pen entirely. He hadn’t realized just how utterly drained the transformations had left him, as he struggled to keep his knees from buckling. He very well might have fallen, if it hadn’t been from the firm hand that took hold of his upper arm just in time.

“See? What did I say, Goldfish? Azul said you’d be tired.” 

He was right, as much as it frustrated Riddle to admit it. 

“Fine, I’ll eat.” He relented unhappily. “But I’m leaving right after.”

“Yaaaaaaaaaaay~!” As just like that, with an exuberant cheer, all the tension in the room evaporated as if it had never existed. “Alright, as requested, I have Goldfish’s meal already prepared. ” Riddle watched with a raised eyebrow as Floyd drew his hand from his pocket and opened his palm to reveal a small, circular red container.

“Ta-da~ Fish food-- Ahahaha!” Floyd laughed as he pulled his hand back, just in time to stop Riddle from slapping the container right out of his palm. “That was a joke, a joke~ That’s gross, I wouldn’t even feed it to the fishies. Come on Goldfish, we’re going to Monstro Lounge. I’ll cook something for you~”

“Wai- don’t pull me!” Riddle’s complaints fell on deaf ears as he found himself being dragged down the hallways towards the kitchens. “I can walk on my own! Besides, can you even cook?!”

“Eeeehhhh? What are you saying Goldfish? Of course I can cook. I was in charge of the kitchen when Monstro Lounge started, you know.” 

“You...were?” Riddle hadn’t known that. The revelation caught him off-guard. Floyd had never struck him at someone who made a concentrated effort at anything, so to think that he might excel at something like cooking that required patience and skill was something Riddle couldn’t quite seem to wrap his head around. 

“Yep~ For a while it was mostly Azul, Jade and me taking care of things. Azul’s smart though, even though we started off small he knows how to run a business and make it flourish. That’s what you’d expect from a restaurant owners son~”

“Ah...there are things like restaurants in the Coral Sea too, aren’t there.” Being as studious as he was, Riddle of course knew enough about the Coral Sea to understand that much. However, reading about something in a book and hearing about it from a Mermaid that actually lived there were two entirely different things. The topic piqued his curiosity. “Isn’t human cooking vastly different from Mermaid cuisine? You can’t use fire under the sea can you? The most you can do is boil things, and anything liquid-based would be out of the question.”

“That’s exactly right Goldfish! I had no idea that humans had so many ways of cooking things! Under the sea we don’t really cook like that. A lot of our food is just raw, or you can throw a bunch of ingredients in a pot and mix it up, but that’s about it. And it’s all seafood and ocean plants. Compared to the huuuuuuuge variety of food that humans have on land, it’s boring~ ”  
Riddle was plenty familiar with Floyd’s animated way of speaking, but that was only because he was often the target of it’s mockery. Listening to Floyd speak with such carefree earnesty was different. It wasn’t...bad. 

“Human food is so interesting. You change the way of cooking just a little bit and the same ingredient changes into something completely different. Did you know, Jade and I spent hours in the kitchen trying different recipes, trying to learn how to cook? Azul cheated of course, he just made a contract with someone for their cooking skills so we ended up learning from him. Jade made every recipe perfectly, right out of the cookbook. But all the popular items on the menu are things I came up with by mixing random stuff together~” Was Floyd bragging a little? He supposed it was something to brag about; for a Mermaid fresh out of the water to learn a skill so out of their expertise so quickly was pretty impressive. 

“Ah, but when we opened on the first day it was horrible~ A complete disaster, ah ha~”

“Even after all that?” Riddle asked in confusion. He hadn’t realized it until that exact moment, but somehow he’d become utterly enraptured by the story.

“We~ll~ Our sense of taste is different from humans. Everything under the sea is really salty sooooooooo....” Floyd stuck out his tongue, leaving Riddle’s mind to fill in the obvious blanks. The thought of customers doubling over and spitting up salt was far funnier than he’d anticipated and Riddle caught himself on the brink of a smile. “We had taste testers after that, at least until we could properly figure out how to adjust our taste. But now we’re doing great, as you can see~ Besides that Goldfish, what do you wanna eat?”

“What?” When had they arrived at the kitchens? Riddle had been so engrossed in the conversation that he hadn’t even noticed, but Floyd was already throwing on an apron and pulling out an assortment of ingredients. “Oh, I uh...” 

Riddle never really had to think about what he wanted to eat. Back home, meals were decided for him, and even since enrolling at Night Raven College, he had stuck with the standards his mother had instilled upon him. His choice of food was always based on nutritional value rather than enjoyment. When it came to deciding what he wanted to eat, besides the once forbidden strawberry tart, Riddle had absolutely no awareness of his own desires. After all, how was he supposed to know what he wanted when his own experiences were so limited? 

His gaze drifted to the ingredients Floyd had set onto the counter, noticing the assortment of squid, shrimp and cockles. “Rule 301 of the Queen of Hearts states that one cannot eat seafood after sunset except on the night of the full moon.” He repeated instinctively.

“Huh? What’s with that? That’s weird~” Floyd raised an eyebrow questioningly before picking up the squid anyway, completely dismissing Riddle's respect for the rules that had, up until now, practically governed his life. “Isn’t it fine to eat when you’re hungry? I’ll just make whatever I feel like then, okay~? You can just sit there and watch, Goldfish.”

Riddle bit back the urge to ask why he had even bothered to ask if he was just planning on doing what he wanted to anyway. The question would simply be swept away in the whirlpool of self-centeredness that was Floyd. Still, he couldn’t deny the rumbling in his stomach and the fatigue that still wore on him. Eventually, Riddle found his place on a nearby stool and told himself to be content to simply watch.

And in a matter of minutes, he was, for there was something incredibly entrancing about watching Floyd wield his knife with what Riddle imagined to be the precision of a skilled surgeon. His lack of a recipe was slightly worrying, but every movement indicated practiced hands that had likely made this dish countless times before. Riddle himself lacked the ability to cook for himself, having grown up in a privileged household. Any interest he might have expressed in cooking was quickly quashed by his mother's insistence that it was unnecessary for him and that he need only concern himself with practical matters, like studying. In hindsight, Riddle realized that cooking seemed to be the far more practical skill in the long run.

“You’re not going to use magic?” The curious onlooker couldn’t help but ask. Riddle’s personal expertise was the practical application of magic, and simply by watching, he could think of a hundred different spells that could have completed the task far more efficiently. “Won’t that be much faster?”

“Eeeeeh, but it’s more fun to make things with your own hands!” He protested, launching what Riddle assumed was rice high into the air before catching it expertly in his skillet with a gleeful laugh. From every slice to every stir of the pot, every sprinkling of spices to every flip of the skillet, there was no doubt in his mind that Floyd was enjoying himself immensely. 

For some reason it shocked him, not that Floyd had a hobby he enjoyed, but that someone as fickle as Floyd had something that he was even remotely dedicated to. From Riddle’s brief and admittedly self-limited experience with the merman, he had come to perceive Floyd as someone who was only ever consistent in how unreliable and capricious he was. Falling to fits of whimsy with no regard for those around him, it was hard to imagine Floyd in any position of leadership or responsibility. And yet here he was, defying Riddle’s every expectation. 

Then again, Riddle’s expectations hadn’t been set particularly high to being with. To him, Floyd had been little more than an annoyingly persistent fly, constantly buzzing about him. Well, as close to fly as a nearly two-meter tall giant could get. If he was being honest with himself, Riddle had to admit that he’d never once truly thought of Floyd as an actual person with hobbies or aspirations, likes and dislikes. It was rather silly now that he thought about it. Of course Floyd was a person.

“Ta da~ Here you go Goldfish, all done~” Riddle’s eyes fell to the plate that had been presented before him, his sense instantly assaulted by the sheer excess of aromas that mingled to form an absolutely mouth-watering scent. He could only make out a portion of the ingredients that had been used to make this; piping hot rice peppered with shrimp, sliced squid,octopus, cockles, peas and carrots, topped with plentiful serving of melted cheese.The rich assortment of flavours that lay before him made him think of just how much his mother would scream if she ever caught wind of this. Riddle swallowed hard, resisting the urge to simply start shovelling it down his throat in spoonfuls. 

“It’s Seafood Cheese Paella. You’re lucky Goldfish, you’re getting a popular item on our menu for free~” Floyd pushed the plate towards him encouragingly. “Go on~”

Who would have thought that there would come a day when Riddle found himself willfully eating something cooked by Floyd Leech, the bane of his existence at Night Raven College? Considering that the last thing he’d eaten had turned him into an actual fish, Riddle couldn’t help but be a pinch cautious as he raised the spoon to his mouth. Half of him expected nothing but a mouthful of salt after the story Floyd had just told him. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised by the explosion of flavour that burst against his tongue.

‘It’s...delicious.“ He admitted, taking another bite, and another, and another. Soon enough Riddle found that he couldn’t stop eating.

“Isn’t it, isn’t it?” Floyd chimed, practically glowing from the praise. “Eat up, Goldfish~ You’re so small, you should really eat more. Though-- uwah, slow down! There’s plenty more for seconds you know! Thirds even.” Floyd promised, watching as Riddle demolished his serving in a little over a minute, and then did the same for the second helping.

“Floyd?” Soft footsteps announced Jade’s arrival in the kitchen, having returned from his errand. “Oh Riddle, you’re still here.”

“Ah, Jade, you’re back~” Floyd greeted his twin cheerfully. “Listen, listen, did you know Goldfish had such a big appetite? This is the third helping already and he’s still going~ He could be a professional eater at this rate.”

Out of the corner of his eye between bites of rice, Riddle saw Jade’s face fall as he glanced between Riddle at the half-empty plate. Something about that statement seemed to have upset him, though Riddle couldn’t quite figure out what it could possibly be.

“Riddle, forgive my assumption but, you usually don’t eat this much, do you?”

Now that Jade mentioned it, he did seem to be eating far more than usual, but Riddle had simply chalked it up to him being completely drained of energy so he hadn’t really thought anything of it. Before he could answer, Jade gently pulled the plate away, much to Floyd’s open dismay. 

“Jaaaaaaaadeeeeeee~ Goldfish was still eating--”

“Be patient a moment Floyd, I’d like to confirm something.” Setting the plate down on the counter behind him, Jade turned back towards Riddle, blocking his view of the food completely. “Riddle, do you still feel hungry?”

Oh. Now that he mentioned it, Riddle didn’t feel hungry at all. In fact, the instant the plate was out of his grasp, he realized just how nauseous he felt, as if he’d eaten far too much, far too quickly. “I...feel sick...”

Why on earth hadn’t he noticed this sickening sensation before now? It wasn’t like him to simply indulge himself so carelessly. Riddle was always cautious about what he ate, so how could he possibly have eaten so much in excess?

“Well...I don’t want to alarm you but,” Jade started cautiously, exchanging a worried look with his brother. “You may or may not be aware that Goldfish will not stop eating if they’re continuously fed. Not even if they’re full. It’s quite a common problem.”

“Yes...” Riddle remembered that particular fact from his earlier research, though its irrelevance caused his brow to crinkle in confusion. “But I’m not a goldfish right now.”

Very quietly, Jade retrieved the plate of food from behind his back, placing it in front of Riddle once more. Though every part of Riddle’s mind was screaming at him not to eat any more, his body seemed to move on it’s own, the sickness in his stomach vanishing into thin air as he once again reached for his spoon. 

“It would seem that I need to talk with Azul.” Jade said as he pulled the plate back once more. “This is not a development that any of us anticipated.”

Until this moment, Riddle had certainly felt annoyance towards his unfortunate predicament, but he had never once felt fear. This time, Jade’s uneasy expression filled him dread, as he was slowly beginning to realize that his affliction might be far more serious than any of them had initially thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will see the increased involvement of another major character in this story. I hope update at least weekly; with any luck I'll be able to stick to that schedule. 
> 
> Until next update.


	3. Algae can be Toxic to your Aquarium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riddle didn’t have the energy to deal with this anymore. All he could think about was crawling into bed and forgetting, just for a few hours, that this nightmare of a day had ever happened.
> 
> The last thing Riddle had expected to find was Trey Clover, wide awake and waiting for him in his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this chapter was meant to be far longer, but after writing the latter portion I realized it might be better to cut it in half instead, so here's this update. On the plus side, this means my next update will probably be fairly soon considering I've already written a good chunk of it. Fair warning that the tone does take a bit of a shift in this one. Enjoy the chapter.

“It seems that some of the traits of a Goldfish have also been mapped onto your human body.” Azul had explained, though he had provided no further reason as to why that might be the case. It seemed as if Octavinelle’s pseudo sea-witch was just as stumped for answers as Riddle was. Azul was certainly a top class magician and skilled far beyond his age, but this situation was beyond anything he’d ever seen before. Until they could learn more about the coral in question and just how much of the Goldfish’s natural habits had been transferred onto Riddle, his hands were tied. 

“There’s no need to panic. This is certainly an unforeseen development, but it’s effects seem to be minor for the time being.” Azul had assured him right before he’d been shooed off back to Heartslabyul. “We’ll keep an eye out for any more unexpected changes, but otherwise, we will proceed as planned. There’s no cause for alarm.”

It took all of Riddle’s self-restraint to stop himself from snapping at Azul’s show of calm. Of course he would say that; he wasn’t the one slowly morphing into a human goldfish. But Azul was right; it was the only thing they could do. Dejected and worn, Riddle at last trudged back to his own dorm, the clock’s hands having long since ticked past the midnight hour. Apparently it was late enough that some of the students of Heartslabyul were bold enough to gather in the lounge playing cards, well after what was acceptable. As they said, when the cat's away, the mice will play, and already in a foul mood Riddle was all too ready to pounce.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Came the question laced with an air of false calm, as Riddle stood at the entrance of the lounge, arms crossed, watching the guilty students jump out of their skins at the sound of his voice. “Rule 177 of the Queen of Hearts dictates that one should not engage in pointless leisure after the midnight hour unless on the night of an unbirthday party. There hasn't been a party today, has there?”

“Um, we’re sorry, Dorm Head Riddle.” A mousy second year Riddle recognized as being from his own class squeaked apologetically. W-We just thought that as long as we kept quiet that--”

“Which part of the Queen of Hearts rules do you not understand?” The dorm head snapped, the student recoiling in terror. “Since you have such little respect for the rules, it is my duty as Dorm Head to teach you. The group of you will assume flamingo feeding duties for the rest of this week. Take over from whoever’s been scheduled.”

“But that’s-- I was on duty all of last week already!” one started to protest, though he quickly quailed at the sight of Riddle’s glare. 

“Any further argument and I’ll take your heads instead!”

That sent them scampering off. As he watched them retreat, Riddle felt the boiling within him start to simmer and cool, leaving him with the feeling of intense shame. He knew he wasn’t really mad at them. He knew he was being unreasonable and venting his frustrations because of his own problems. But the deed was done, and as Dorm Head he couldn’t suddenly take back his words.

Just then, the full extent of his exhaustion hit him all at once. Riddle didn’t have the energy to deal with this anymore. All he could think about was crawling into bed and forgetting, just for a few hours, that this nightmare of a day had ever happened.

The last thing Riddle had expected to find was Trey Clover, wide awake and waiting for him in his room.

“Trey, why--?”

“Riddle, where were you?” Oh. Not good. Of all the people he didn’t want to notice his unexplained absence, Trey was the first on that list. And of course, Trey of all people had to be the first to notice. He should have expected as much. If he hadn’t known any better, he might have sworn from the curt tone and strained expression that Trey was angry, or at the very least, incredibly upset. This was exactly the situation that Riddle had wanted to avoid. 

Standing frozen in the front door to his own room, Riddle’s mind raced to think of an excuse that was believable. He reminded himself to stay calm. Trey didn’t know anything for sure; all he knew was that Riddle had left the dorm and returned incredibly late for some unknown reason. There was nothing suspicious about that in the slightest.

“What do you mean? I’ve been at the library.” Riddle replied, pretending to be confused. If he acted like Trey’s suspicions towards his behaviour bewildered him, then perhaps the third year might be more inclined to buy his story. After all, as far as Trey knew, Riddle had no reason to lie. “Time must have gotten away from me, I didn’t notice it’d gotten so late until I was told they were closing. Is something the matter, Trey?” he asked, feigning concern. “I apologize if I scared you with my carelessness.”

“You were in the Library, you say?” Trey asked, as Riddle felt the scrutiny of his narrowed eyes rake across his very soul. “In that case, would you like to explain how you were in the Library when it’s closed for renovations today?”

Oh. Considering Riddle hadn’t actually been to the library at all, there was no way he would have known that. He could feel the heat beginning to rise to his face as the foundations of his hastily constructed lie began to crumble like sand.

“O-Of course I knew that! That’s why I obtained special permission from the librarian to use it...” That line of reasoning sounded weak, even to him, but Riddle had no other choice but to double down on the story he’d concocted. If he backtracked now, Trey would only end up becoming more suspicious. Besides, for a studious individual like Riddle, it wasn’t completely out of the question. If he acted indignant, perhaps Trey would finally give in. “In the first place, I don’t see why you’re being so--”

“I lied, there was no such thing.” Riddle stared at Trey open-mouthed in absolute disbelief as his childhood friend rose from his seat, arms crossed, looking down at Riddle like a disappointed parent. This time Riddle truly was indignant, cheeks turning bright red at the embarrassment of being caught.

“Trey you--!”

“But thanks to that, my suspicions have been confirmed. You’re definitely hiding something from me Riddle. I had a feeling that something was wrong since yesterday.” Within moments, the harsh frown melted into a look filled with nothing but concern. When Trey spoke again, he no longer sounded stern.

“Riddle...” Trey’s voice was soft, almost pleading as he held Riddle’s gaze with such earnest anxiety that Riddle felt an uneasy sense of guilt begin to well up within him. “Please, if something’s wrong, all I ask is that you trust me enough to tell me. We’ve been through this haven’t we? You don’t have to carry every burden on your own. If I can’t even support you when you need it most, then good am I as your Vice Dorm Head? What good am I as your friend?”

Worrying Trey had been the last thing he’d intended. In fact, he’d wanted to keep everything a secret for that very reason, so Trey didn’t have to worry. But then again, he supposed relationships didn’t work that way. Of course Trey would be worried if Riddle started acting strangely; had their situations been reversed, Riddle knew that he would’ve felt the exact same way. He would’ve wanted to help Trey, regardless of what Trey himself wanted. Now, all he’d done was make Trey feel as if his secret keeping was because of Trey’s own shortcomings. It was as if he didn’t trust Trey enough to tell him what was going on, when nothing could have been further from the truth. 

Backed into a corner by his own contradictory emotions, Riddle felt a crack in his resolve. 

“I stood by and did nothing for a long time Riddle; not being able to help you when we were children is still one of my biggest regrets. I don’t want to make that same mistake ever again. Whatever it is that’s troubling you this time, let me help.”

The warm, reassuring hand on his shoulder was all it took for what was left of Riddle’s resolve to shatter completely.

“I can’t believe you would go this far to pry my worries out of me...” Riddle muttered, face in his hands, now completely emotionally drained to add to his physical exhaustion. He no longer had the strength to fight back against such a determined adversary. ‘Fine, fine I’ll tell you. But you have to promise to stay calm.”

“Calm…?” Worry once more flickered across Trey’s face. “Oh no, what have you gotten yourself into Riddle?”

“ I can assure you the situation’s being taken care of.” Riddle promised. “But...you might want to sit down for this.”

“Al...right...?” Apprehensive, Trey sat back down on the edge of the bed as Riddle sat across from him at his desk. He took a deep breath.

“The truth is...”

And so, Riddle began to explain.

“So...let me get this straight.” Trey started at last, rubbing his temples after a long, long moment of silence. “You thought it would be a good idea to hide the fact that you can now turn into an actual marine creature from me...why?!”

“I...thought I could handle it on my own.” Riddle admitted, wincing under Trey’s disapproving stare. It had understandably taken a minute for Trey to digest everything, but once the shock had passed, the indignation at having been left out of the loop in such a serious situation was quick to kick in.

“Really? You thought you could just handle your slow transformation into a human-goldfish monstrosity?”

“I’m not-- you don’t have to put it like that!” Riddle protested, wide-eyed, unwilling to so much as entertain that horrifying thought. Even if it was somewhat true. “I didn’t want-- Look, you have enough to worry about as it is. This was my mess to clean up.”

“Really, you...” Trey’s expression was caught somewhere between frustration and endearment, as if unable to decide if that admission made him more upset or happy. “I appreciate the sentiment Riddle, but that shouldn’t come at your expense. You understand that keeping something as serious as this from me only makes me worry more, don’t you? What if something had gone terribly wrong? What if you'd been boiled alive in tea again, or if you’d been eaten by Trein’s cat because you transformed at the wrong moment? What if something terrible befell you and I didn’t find out about it until after?”

“I know, I know, I just...” a tired sigh escaped Riddle’s lips as he slumped over, feeling the guilt crawl across his skin. Somehow, even in trying to make the right decision, he’d ended up being completely wrong. “I just hoped that Azul would have figured out a solution by now.”

“And that’s the other thing.” Trey interjected, narrowing his eyes. “You know what those three are like. You saw first hand how half the school was thoroughly conned during the mid-term exams. How do you know that Azul and the twins aren’t just playing you like a fiddle?”

It wasn’t as if the possibility hadn’t crossed Riddle’s mind, but thinking back to just how genuinely shocked Floyd had been when he’d first turned into a Goldfish, that suspicion had been long since eradicated. Honestly, too much had happened since to make him think that any of this was part of an elaborate stunt to extort him. It was all just far too complicated to be the case. “I understand where you’re coming from, but I really don’t think so.”

“Alright then, we’ll go tomorrow.” Trey declared abruptly, standing up.

“Go…where exactly?” Riddle blinked, confused as Trey stared back at him, expression deadpan. 

“To Octavinelle. I want to get an idea of exactly what’s going on and how far they’ve gotten in fixing this thing. Even if you trust Azul Ashengrotto, I don’t. Not until I see some actual proof that he’s doing something to fix this.” 

“Is that really necessary?” Riddle asked, suddenly feeling his panic spike. Trey getting involved with the trio was yet another situation he’d wanted to avoid, but the third seemed insistent.

“I’m not taking no for an answer on this, Riddle. We’ll go first thing tomorrow. Now get some sleep.”

\-----

“I apologize, I didn’t want to involve anyone else in this either but....” Riddle bowed his head unable to raise his gaze to meet the tight smile of the Octavinelle Dorm Head who sat across from him, or the subtle frown worn by his own Vice Dorm Head who stood next to him. As if the situation wasn’t awkward enough, neither had said a word since Riddle had started to explain why he and Trey had suddenly shown up at Azul’s doorstep unannounced.

From the beginning, though neither party had said it aloud, there had been an unspoken agreement between them that it would be in all their best interests to settle this as quickly and as discreetly as possible. In Riddle’s case, he simply wanted to take responsibility for his own carelessness, not wanting to drag anyone else into a mess of his own making. Azul had his own reasons for wanting to keep everything hush hush; to an extent, he was obligated to help by the mere fact that the entire situation was the fault of one of his own dorm members. There was also the sneaking suspicion that Riddle had that Azul was trying to get something more out of this, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on what that was just yet. A part of him was surprised Azul hadn’t already demanded that Riddle sign some sort of contract, not that Riddle would have agreed to that. Either way, it didn’t take a genius to read the icy air of the room. Neither party was happy to have the other there. 

“I see. If that’s the case then we’d be more than happy to have Trey’s assistance in this matter.” Azul affirmed finally with a tight-lipped smile that Riddle did not believe for a second was real. “Having a third year's expertise would certainly make things easier.”

“Really? Then, I find it pretty strange that you never thought to ask for my assistance before this.” Trey responded, an eyebrow raised. His antagonism was rather uncharacteristic; Riddle knew Trey to be the person to keep a cool head in almost any situation, even when Riddle was on the verge of exploding. To hear the same person bite back at Azul with immediate distrust was jarring. Then again, Azul’s reputation did precede him, and Trey had already made his suspicions towards the trio known. “In the first place, this entire situation reeks of foul play. How do we know this was just an accident? How do I know your intention wasn’t to entrap Riddle from the very beginning?”

“Really, what a silly accusation.” Azul sighed, sounding disappointed at the accusation rather than angry. He shrugged, arms spread as if to show he had nothing to hide.“If I truly wanted to coerce someone into a contract, there are far less troublesome ways to go about it. The only thing I’ve gained from this unfortunate mishap is a headache.”

Trey’s narrowed eyes betrayed his continuing lack of trust in Azul, despite his explanation. Thankfully, before the conversation could get any more heated, the door to the VIP room burst open with a bang, an exuberant cry of delight announcing the arrival of the twins. 

“Goldfish~ Did you come to play aga--” Floyd’s cheery greeting was cut off the instant he noticed the presence of an unexpected guest in the room. 

“Oh my, if it isn’t Trey.” Jade was the first to comment, though he was quickly cut off by his twin.

“Why’s he here?” The amount of blatant hostility in Floyd’s voice caught Riddle off guard. He’d seen enough of Floyd’s sudden mood swings to know that the merman wasn’t always playful and carefree, but he had never witnessed a shift in mood to this extent. Just a second ago, Floyd had been grinning from ear to ear; now, the shadows over his face were dark enough to rival thunderclouds. What on earth Floyd had against Trey was beyond Riddle’s comprehension. To his knowledge, the two barely ever interacted, if at all. “Oi, Azul, I’m asking why Algae’s here?”

“A-Algae?” Right. Floyd’s weird penchant for nicknames. Trey seemed to catch on just as quickly, pointing to himself in surprise. “I’m Algae?”

“Cause your hair is green, like Algae.” True, though there was certainly other marine life that was green, that didn’t quite evoke the same image of slimy green mold. “And you show up in places where you’re not wanted.”

Neither Riddle nor Trey seemed to be able to find the words to respond to such a bewildering declaration of vitriol. Even Azul seemed somewhat surprised. 

“Ah, if you’re here then it must be to help with Riddle’s predicament.” Jade interjected smoothly without missing a beat, a pleasant smile still plastered on his face despite the suffocating air of antagonism in the room. “Azul has already compiled quite a bit of research on the topic. If I remember correctly, you’re quite good at Alchemy, aren’t you? Why don’t you come with me? There are some things we could use your opinion on.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” If Trey recognized that this was a ploy to break the tension, he didn’t make an obvious show of it. Riddle felt a soft pat on his shoulder as Trey brushed past, following Jade out the door. With a click of his tongue, Floyd soon followed, which was exactly the trigger Riddle needed to snap him out of his shock and chase after him. The last thing he wanted was for Floyd picking a fight with Trey.

“Floyd, wait!” 

Riddle ground his heels to a halt, very nearly running straight into Floyd, who’d stopped abruptly in the middle of the hallway. When he finally did look up, the glower he received nearly extinguished any desire he had to talk to Floyd at all. Nearly.

Why had it turned out like this? Just last night, it had felt like they’d made some progress. For one, Riddle had held an actual conversation with Floyd that hadn't just consisted of yelling. As much as he hated to admit it, Riddle had enjoyed their talk. It had been unexpectedly pleasant. It had proved that they were capable of talking without resorting to grinding at each other's nerves. Was he mistaken for thinking that maybe, just maybe, he could reason with Floyd? Against his better judgement, Riddle swallowed his inhibitions.

“Don’t you think that was a little unnecessary? I don’t know what you have against Trey, but as the Dorm Head of Heartslabyul, I can’t just let that slide.”

“Ah, is that so?”

The utter disinterest in Floyd’s voice felt like a slap in the face to Riddle’s earnest attempt at communication. Hadn’t Floyd been the one to kick up a fuss just moments ago? And now he was acting as if he couldn’t have cared less? As if the entire affair had nothing to do with him? Riddle didn’t understand. It was as if whenever he seemed to think he’d gotten some type of grasp on Floyd’s personality, the merman did something absolutely inexplicable that caused that fleeting understanding to slip right through his fingers. One step forward, two steps back.Was there even a point in trying to understand at all? Riddle willed himself to breathe, desperately quashing the frustration that roiled in the pit of his stomach. 

“Well, whatever the reason, even if you’re not fond of Trey, can’t you at least be civil?” Riddle at last resolved to compromise. Whatever the case, Riddle couldn’t stand for simply allowing his childhood friend to be disparaged for seemingly no reason. Trey had put himself in this situation out of a purehearted desire to help Riddle. He didn’t deserve Floyd’s constant disparaging. “For instance, you could start by not using that nickname.” 

“...Why?” Floyd turned around to face him in full, mismatched eyes staring down at him with an intensity that instantly unsettled him. Floyd didn’t look angry or upset, and yet Riddle couldn’t help but feel that there was something deeply unpleasant simmering behind that strange lack of expression, something that made every inch of Riddle want to turn tail and run. He struggled not to squirm under the scrutiny of a gaze that seemed fierce enough to bore holes right through him. “If you don’t like something isn’t it better to say it? Algae is algae, and I don’t like him.”

“What…?” And with that, every once of apprehension Riddle felt melted away, replaced with nothing but anger; pure, boiling hot anger and the sheer absurdity of what he was hearing. Just how unreasonable could one person be?! Just how insufferably uncompromising? Here he was, trying his best not to lose his temper, trying to be understanding and diplomatic, and in return, all Riddle got was as much cooperation as he would have gotten from a brick wall. 

“What...do you mean you don’t like him?!” 

That was it. That was the last straw. Riddle felt his face start to flush with rage, though for once there was no mocking laughter or gleeful comparisons to goldfish. Instead his explosion was met with the same unreadable impassivity that had caused Riddle to snap in the first place “Why?!”

“Why?”

“Yes, why?! You can’t just dislike someone for no reason!”

“Why?” Floyd repeated, a scowl crossing his face. “I just don’t like him. Why is he even here? Azul’s already working on the potion isn’t he? That should be more than enough. Algae can’t do anything that a master level magician like Azul can’t. Plus, he sticks to Goldfish like a sea leech. It’s really annoying.”

If he wasn’t on the brink of screaming, Riddle would have been completely confused by the absolute hypocrisy that Floyd was spewing. Annoying? A leech?? Trey??? He wanted to turn around everything that Floyd had just said about Trey and throw it back at the merman tenfold. He wanted to lash out, despite knowing that anything he said or did would only bounce off an armour of perpetual indifference. There was so much he wanted to say to the moron that had the audacity to accuse his childhood, and quite possibly best, friend of everything that he was guilty of. And so, Riddle started with one simple truth.

“Well, I’d rather have him around than you!!”

“Is that so?” His first warning that he’d struck a nerve should have been when he heard Floyd’s tone turn dark. The subtlety of it flew over his head. Besides, Riddle was far too glad. For once the tables were turned. For once it was Floyd on the receiving end of everything that was unpleasant. If Riddle's words hurt, then he hoped he cut deep. 

“That doesn't cover it! Annoying? Sticking like a leech? Do you even hear yourself? If you had even an ounce of self-awareness, instead of going on about Trey, you’d look in a mirror for once!” 

He was truly yelling now, at the very top of his lungs. It was a weekend, and this was Octavinelle, not his own dorm. People weren’t used to his fury here like they were at Heartslabyul. No doubt the commotion would soon earn him some spectators, if it hadn’t already. He should really stop. Common sense was telling him he’d said more than enough, but his emotions pushed him to keep going. “I can think of a hundred situations in which I’d gladly pick Trey over you. A million! In fact, even if I was one foot in the grave and my life depended on it, I still wouldn’t choose you! I’d rather just--!!”

The bang that cut him off reverberated through the hallway with such force that Riddle nearly yelped in addition to jumping almost out of his skin. It was only a second later did he realize that Floyd had kicked the aquarium embedded wall beside him so hard that it had cracked the glass. Blank brown and gold irises stared off into the distance, looking past Riddle entirely.

“Aaaah, I’m tired of this.” 

“Huh?! I should be the one who’s--!” Riddle started, though it became abundantly clear that Floyd was no longer listening. In fact, Floyd was no longer there, having walked off in the middle of Riddle’s retort. Apparently when Floyd was done being annoyed, he got to walk away. It was a courtesy he’d never afforded to Riddle. Half of him wanted to give chase and finish what he’d started; the other half was too tired and angry to care. 

It was that latter that eventually won, as Riddle took a step back, realizing that he was practically panting from all the yelling. Ears still ringing, he turned around to see curious faces whip quickly out of sight. He sighed. Of course if he started yelling in the middle of a dorm that wasn’t his would garner unwanted attention. 

Riddle yelling at someone wasn’t anything out of the ordinary; even him yelling at Floyd wasn’t out of the ordinary, though the intensity of the argument certainly had been. Riddle had grown to expect Floyd to take anything he threw at him with a chuckle and a toothy smirk. He had never expected any of his punches to land, and he had certainly never expected that Floyd might actually be upset. 

As a cooler head began to prevail in the aftermath of his rage, Riddle wondered if he’d perhaps gone too far. Yes, Floyd had been unreasonable, but had Riddle really needed to say all that? He could’ve gotten the point across with so much less, and yet he’d let his anger get the best of him again. He’d never seen Floyd react so violently, at least not towards him. Of course, it made sense. Anyone would be mad if they were told death was preferable to their company.

Maybe...maybe he had been a little too harsh. Maybe he should apologize.

Wait, what on earth was he thinking?

After all the harassment he’d endured from Floyd over the past year and half, a few sharp words were hardly any comparison. Floyd would either get over it and things would go back to normal, or he wouldn’t and he’d continue to sulk, in which case Riddle would be rid of him for good. Either way, it was fine by him. Why should he apologize? All he’d done was give Floyd the tongue lashing he’d long had coming to him. If anyone should be apologizing, it was the overgrown Eel who obviously had no consideration for anyone other than himself. 

By the time Trey found Riddle in the Octavinelle lounge, he had all but steeled his resolve to leave things the way they were.

“Did...something happen?” Trey asked cautiously, as Riddle made a concentrated effort to wipe the scowl off his face. Thankfully the crimson hue of rage had coloured his skin had long since faded.

“Where were you?” He asked.

“With Jade. He was explaining the details of what Azul had managed to find, as well as--” Trey’s voice trailed off as he glanced back at Riddle with renewed concern. “Really, Riddle, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” He replied coolly as he rose to leave. “It’s nothing worth mentioning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been a bit of a trying week for me, culminated by the fact that my phone needed to undergo a complete reset. So now I'm waiting for Aniplex to recover my twst account because I, like a fool, didn't write down my transfer code. Thankfully in the midst of this, I received some lovely and encouraging comments on this work which made me feel a lot better and wholly motivated me to finish this chapter. Please spare a prayer for my account and I hope that everyone's having fun with the Ghost Marriage event in the meantime.
> 
> Edit;; I've recovered my account, all is well now c:
> 
> See you next update.


	4. Not Meant for Deep Waters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “If I may offer my own opinion, I don’t believe that my brother is half as complicated as you think he is. What’s that phrase I’ve heard land-dwellers use? Much like this pool, it’s not that deep.” 
> 
> “Easy for you to say.” Riddle scoffed, staring into the depths of the Olympic-sized pool that looked like it was plenty deep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What should have been a single chapter has now evolved into a three-part saga as I yet again found that I had to split this chapter in half from the half that it already was. Apparently I seem to be completely incapable of writing anything succinctly. 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter.

It was strange how mundane this Monday felt, all things considered.

Despite having the additional hazard of turning into a tiny marine creature, from the moment he woke up that morning, Riddle found that his daily schedule was largely unaffected. He had Trey to thank for that. Having at least one person constantly at his side, with a full awareness of what was going on, turned out to be an absolute lifesaver. It was Trey who took it upon himself to meet Riddle that morning, alongside Ace and Duce who had their usual breakfast plans with Grimm and the prefect of the ramshackle dorm. Add an unexpected run-in with Carter at the dining hall and they had the makings of a rare breakfast get-together that surprisingly proved to be just the pick-me-up Riddle needed. There was something oddly therapeutic about watching first years bickering in their usual dunderheaded manner, as Cater laughed and snapped pictures for his Magicam. Riddle almost forgot to remind them that according to Rule 30 of the Queen of Hearts, one must refrain from making a commotion at the breakfast table unless it involves hedgehogs. 

Almost.

“Anyway,” Ace continued with less fervour, after Riddle’s scolding had them settle down a little. “As I was saying, Vanguard is obviously the perfect position to go for during tryouts.”

“Eh? Vanguard?” Cater gasped, in the midst of typing a caption. “You’re the kind of person who has a ‘go big or go home’ attitude, huh Ace. Would it kill you to be a little more realistic?”

“Wha--!! I am being realistic!” Ace protested, slamming a fist on the table despite Riddle’s glare. “Vanguard plays both offense and defense, and it’s the coolest sounding position!”

“Ah, so it was about the cool factor huh...”

“Vanguard is a position that requires both strength and fortitude. I’m not sure it really suits you...” Deuce agreed with a doubtful look at his classmate. “I think someone with my capabilities is much more fitting--”

“You just want the position for yourself, don’t you?!”

“The two of you are certainly energetic for first years who aren’t even regulars on the Heartslabyul team yet.” Riddle commented with a cool sip of tea, needling the pair right where it hurt as they flinched and fell to silence. “Besides, haven’t you noticed that not everyone at the table understands what you’re talking about?”

“Yeah!” Grimm demanded, sitting up on his hind legs as he patted one paw on the table impatiently. “You’ve been going on about positions since just now, but what exactly are you talking about?”

“Ah, that’s right, the two of you were here for the inter-dorm Magical Shift competition, but I don’t think you ever learnt about positions in detail, did you?“ Trey smiled at the residents of the ramshackle dorm. “To put it simply, like most sports, MagiShift has various roles that players take up on the field. It’s the same thing as having a Pitcher or a Batter in baseball.”

“Or, a Point Guard in basketball.” Ace interjected, eager to show off his knowledge on the one sport he played regularly. 

“You’ve already unknowingly been exposed to all the positions; for example, during the exhibition match, you charged forwards with the Disc into the enemy’s territory, didn’t you? Players who do that are known as the ‘Infantry’. It’s their job to gain territory and score points. Meanwhile, players like Ruggie, who ride on their brooms and rain down spells with the intention of stopping their opponent are known as the ‘Cavalry. Then, there’s a, a single player that acts as the last line of defense before the goal. This player is known as the ‘Vanguard’. Usually teams assign their strongest player to this position. An exceptional Vanguard can block an opponent's play and send their own attack right back at them. There are a couple more minor distinctions but those are the three main position groups.”

“Which is why it surprises me that the two of you would think of trying out for Vanguard.” Riddle added as Trey concluded his explanation. “It would be one matter if you were trying out for the Dorm team, but this is the inter-school competition. You’ll be competing against players from other houses who are veteran Vanguards. People like Leona, or Malleus.”

“Ugh...” That put an instant damper on the pairs’ moods as their faces twisted with the realization that in order to fulfil their far-fetched fantasies, they’d have to go head to head with two of the most terrifying seniors in the entire school.

“Ah, remember how Leona utterly destroyed us when we played at Savannahclaw?” Cater laughed, enjoying the look of despair on his junior’s faces. “Oh, well there’s always the reserve bench for you two to keep warm~”

“The hell I’m going to be a reserve player!!”

“Ace.” Riddle warned as he reached for another piece of toast. “Rule 30 of the Queen of Hearts--”

“Ah, Dorm Head Riddle, that’s my toast though.”

Riddle’s eyes snapped to the plate across from him, suddenly realizing that his own plate had run out of food. By instinct, that stupid, stupid goldfish instinct, he’d reached for the next nearest thing. He bit back the urge to curse, searching for an excuse, when Trey swooped in and snatched the plate away.

“Alright then, that’s enough breakfast for you.” The third year declared cheerfully, claiming Ace’s piece of toast for himself without so much as asking. “You shouldn’t start gaining weight if you plan on attending tryouts after all”

“Wha--?! That was my only piece of toast! Making fun of someone’s hopes and dreams like this...you guys think you’re real funny, don’t you?” The first year pouted. “Just you wait till tryouts!”

“That’s right! Just you wait and see! the great Grimm will be taking the best position!”

“Huh? What are you talking about? Are you even allowed to play?”

Wordlessly, Riddle met Trey’s gaze, giving him a silent nod thanks for his quick action. Swept away but the usual chaotic flow of the conversation, for a few, sweet minutes, he had completely forgotten about the affliction that plagued him. He’d have to be more careful not to make the same mistake when Trey wasn’t around to watch his back.

With that in mind, breakfast was concluded and classes were about to begin. Now that he was on his own, Riddle noticed just how on edge he was, eyes scanning his surroundings for any potential mishaps where water might be involved. It was unlikely that anything could or would happen. After all, on an ordinary day, how often did one really end up drenched in water? Not often at all. Now that he actually thought about it, almost every unexpected transformation had been the fault of a single individual. A single individual that Riddle soon realized, was avoiding him at all costs. After all, the distinct lack of the word ‘Goldfish’ being yelled across the dining hall was not hard to miss.

His second clue was when Jade inquired about his state of being as he walked into their classroom. Riddle had assumed that Jade was referring to his goldfish problem, but judging from the look on the Leech twin’s face, he had probably been fishing about for something else entirely. It wasn’t until the brief lull between third and fourth periods, when their paths crossed in the hallway, that Riddle finally saw it with his own eyes. All it took was the sight of one turquoise head of hair making a hard and sudden right turn at the sight of him approaching, and Riddle knew that he was being blatantly avoided.

It hadn’t yet been twenty-four hours since their argument. Most disagreements lasted a lot longer than that. People didn’t get over things that quickly, especially since neither party in this case had made an apology. And yet, for some reason, Riddle was still surprised. He hadn’t realized it until just then, but Riddle had honestly believed that Floyd would simply let the fight slide off of him like rain off a duck's back. Or, seawater off an Eel’s slimy skin. But that hadn’t happened, and Riddle didn’t know how to feel. 

On one hand it was everything he could have asked for; peace and quiet reigned over his day in a way that he had never known since the advent of Floyd had descended upon him in their first year. The realization that for once, he could walk anywhere he wanted on campus without the fear of suddenly being jumped, was so overwhelming that it nearly brought tears to his eyes. And yet, the way this precious peace had been earned didn’t sit entirely right with him. Riddle felt as if he’d lost something disproportionate to what he’d gained, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on what that was. 

Not Floyd’s company though. God no. 

Right after that unpleasant realization, at the start of fourth period, Riddle found himself approached by one of his classmates who didn’t speak to him too often. It was the very same student he’d punished the night before, he realized, as the mousy second year fidgeted nervously before him.

“What is it?” Riddle snapped, patience now worn thin by a certain inconsiderate Eel. 

“I-I’m sorry I-- Well, I w-wanted to--” The student flinched under Riddle’s glare, indicative of his rapidly souring mood. “Um, I know you said to feed the flamingos for the rest of the week as punishment for breaking the rules but...I...I have a makeup test tomorrow and if I don’t do well, Professor Trein says I’m in danger of failing the class--”

“Your failure is the result of your own shortcomings.” Riddle said shortly. “If you hadn’t broken the rules, then you wouldn’t have to suffer the consequences. I will not defer your punishment and I shall expect to see you this evening.” he finished, leaving no room for argument.

As the defeated student trudged away, Riddle silently vowed to waste no more time thinking about Floyd and his petty tantrum. All it did was make him short tempered and irritable. If Floyd wanted to ignore him, then fine, but Riddle refused to allow himself to be dragged into an emotional quagmire over something so silly. So there.

\-----

The last class of the day presented Riddle with his biggest challenge; swimming. This was just about the time of the year when the physical education curriculum at Night Raven Collage started mixing in a swimming course that lasted a couple of weeks. As luck would have it, the schedule just so happened to coincide with Riddle’s unfortunate accident. Thankfully, his attendance records were spotless, and his serious attitude in every class ensured that Vargas didn’t so much as bat an eyelid when Riddle cooked up a lie about feeling ill that day. 

“Well, well, isn’t that fortunate?” Jade smiled at him as he returned to the bench where he would take his permanent seat for the rest of the class. “Though, I do imagine it will be difficult to keep up the charade as the weeks go by.”

“I hope you’re speaking hypothetically, and that you don’t actually plan on taking weeks.” Riddle sighed, watching Jade await his turn in the pool. It was odd to see the merman in a swimsuit, attending swimming lessons of all things, when he knew full well that Jade had likely traversed far more turbulent waters than that the pitiful length of the school swimming pool.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to swim in your usual form?” Riddle couldn’t help but ask as Jade went through the motions of laughably redundant warm-up stretches by the poolside.

“Well, of course.” He chucked, “But that would be besides the point of these lessons. There’s nothing these classes can teach me about swimming as a Mermaid that I don’t already know. The only benefit it provides is in training my human form. Perhaps a day will come when I have no choice but to rely on my legs instead of my fins for some reason.” Well, that was certainly an optimistic way of looking at things, even if it seemed unlikely. Riddle was impressed with how Jade could find meaning in something that was clearly redundant. 

“Still, it must be tedious for you to have to go through this.” 

“Not at all. It’s quite refreshing to get into the water once in a while, even if it is in a human form.” Jade affirmed, before he smiled fondly. “Though, I cannot say Floyd shows the same restraint. I hear they have quite a time cleaning up whenever Class E finishes their lessons.”

The mere mention of he-who-must-not-be-named brought an instinctive grimace to Riddle’s face before he could think to catch it. 

“Oh my, that’s quite a reaction.” Jade hummed with a toothy grin that was far too reminiscent of his brother’s for Riddle’s liking. Jade had clearly brought up the topic on purpose to gauge Riddle’s reaction, a reaction that Riddle refused to provide him with. Still, the redhead’s deliberate silence spoke volumes. “I heard you had quite the falling out yesterday.” 

“Did you?” Riddle’s voice turned cold. He didn’t know if the thought of Floyd talking about him behind his back brought him displeasure or some distorted sense of satisfaction. It was probably a little bit of both. 

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t told the details. When the worst of Floyd’s moods hit, he won’t talk to me either.” Jade assured him, seeming to read Riddle’s mind. ‘But I assumed it was about Trey.” 

As Jade smiled expectantly at him, Riddle couldn’t help but stare in wonder. Though he knew better than to trust this sibling any more than the other, he had to admit that Jade possessed all the decorum and social awareness that his brother sorely lacked. No matter how hard he tried, Riddle just couldn’t seem to wrap his head around how two people who had the exact same upbringing could turn out so completely different. 

“Really, how are you twins?” Riddle muttered under his breath, though not quite quietly enough for Jade to miss.

“I can’t say I haven’t heard that before.” He smirked, amused. Riddle couldn’t tell if Jade was being sympathetic or outright laughing at him. “If I may offer my own opinion, I don’t believe that my brother is half as complicated as you think he is. What’s that phrase I’ve heard land-dwellers use? Much like this pool, it’s not that deep.” 

“Easy for you to say.” Riddle scoffed, staring into the depths of the Olympic-sized pool that looked like it was plenty deep. It was a phrase Riddle had heard before thanks to Carter, the self-proclaimed, second-place trendsetter of Night Raven College, right behind Vil Schoenheit of course. Put simply, it meant that things were usually far more straightforward than they initially seemed, though Riddle didn’t see how this applied to Floyd in the slightest. “If it’s so straightforward then why does he dislike Trey so much?”

“Didn’t you ask him?”

“Well I did, but--!!” He caught himself mid-exclamation, remembering they were still in class. “All I got were answers that made no sense.” He continued hotly, albeit in a far more hushed tone. “He said something about Trey being annoying and clingy with me, which he isn’t at all. And even if that was the case, why does it bother him so much? I don’t understand where on earth it’s all coming from.”

“Ah.” If that meant that Jade had come to some sort of epiphany, it seemed that he had no intention of sharing it with Riddle, as the merman rested his hand on his chin in silent contemplation. “I imagine that was quite upsetting to hear.”

“I did snap.” Riddle admitted, casting his gaze down at his lap. In hindsight, he wasn’t particularly proud of the way he’d reacted. He knew he’d have to be the bigger person, seeing as his opponent was an overgrown child. Yet, he’d given in to his anger anyway. It had felt justified in the moment. It had even felt good. Now, with the recollection that he was actually trying to change his worst impulses, every other emotion paled in comparison to the disappointment he felt in himself. Regardless of what had triggered the outburst, none of what he’d said had been necessary. “I may have been...a lot harsher than I intended to be.”

“Floyd doesn't let much get to him. He has a very distinct idea of what he cares about and what he doesn't.” Riddle appreciated that Jade didn’t try to press him on what exactly he’d said to Floyd. He didn’t think he had the heart to repeat it, least of all to Floyd’s brother. “Although, if that sort of harsh reprimand is coming from you, then...I can see why that would have upset him.”

“Me?” Once again, Riddle was perplexed as to why his involvement in particular would matter. “Why would it?”

“Oh, haven’t you noticed?” Every inch of Jade’s smiling expression suddenly looked immensely punchable, as the merman wore an expression that seemed to indicate he knew something. Whatever it was, Jade seemed to quite enjoy watching Riddle’s confusion in trying to puzzle it out, dangling before him only morsels of information that seemed to be no help at all. “He’s quite fond of you.”

“Fond of--” Riddle nearly choked. “You mean he enjoys tormenting me.” He corrected with a raised eyebrow. Up until now, Jade’s advice had seemed sound enough, but now Riddle was almost convinced to throw everything the Leech twin had just told him out the window. Clearly Jade had no understanding of what it meant to be fond of someone. “I mean, if you were fond of someone, you wouldn’t continually bother them against their will.”

“I wonder about that.” Jade averted his gaze, as if trying not to laugh. It was almost as if there was something blindingly obvious about this entire situation that Riddle was missing and that Jade had absolutely no intention of just telling him. But before he could demand to know what was so funny, Vargas’ booming voice called out from across the complex.

“Leech, it’s your turn next!”

“People have different ways of expressing themselves, Riddle.” Jade offered as he started to leave the bench. “I would advise you not to overthink it. The explanation you’re looking for is probably far simpler than you expect.”

Riddle wished he could somehow wring the inner machinations of Floyd’s mind out of Jade, just so he wouldn’t have to now unravel the cryptic bit of council he’d been left with. Jade made it sound so simple, but Riddle was already at a loss on where to start. By the end of class, Riddle felt as if he understood even less than he had before. It irked to no end that his entire day had somehow been consumed trying to understand someone who was probably completely unrepentant. To that end, Riddle resolved to forget about Floyd for the time being, before he once again found himself overcome with exasperation.

Halfway back to the main campus, Riddle noticed that his pocket seemed a little lighter than usual., coming to the sudden realization that he’d left his phone in the pool lockers. He’d set it aside purely by routine, having forgotten to retrieve it since he hadn’t been swimming that day. At least classes were over and he wasn’t going to be late for anything important. The only duty he really had left to attend to was overseeing the flamingo feeding later that evening.

Hurrying back to the indoor pool, Riddle found it completely dark, the still surface glimmering ominously. He took care to ensure there were no stray puddles of water that might send him careening off the edge and into the grim waters below. There would be no accidents involving water today; not on his watch. Quickly he retrieved the phone from his assigned locker and turned to head back out the door, when the successive thuds of rapid footsteps began to echo through the complex.

Riddle felt the force slam into his chest like a ton of bricks well before he felt his fingers curl around his magic pen. There was only one explanation; his assailant had had his pen drawn long before Riddle. The realization didn’t stop him from pushing every fiber of muscle in his body to move, even as he was thrown backwards. The embedded ruby glowed with magic as he whipped his arm forward at the attacker he couldn’t quite make out, though from the angle of the attack he could certainly guess where they were. 

“Off with your head!!”

Riddle heard the distinct snap of his collar meeting it’s mark, coupled with a faint gasp just as he felt his back hit the water.

Splash! 

The shock of suddenly being submerged in cold water was soon overtaken by the sensation of being smothered by his now oversized clothes. Riddle’s tiny aquatic body thrashed and wriggled until he was finally free of the black shroud that was his school uniform. Eyesight readjusting to the clear waters, he realized there was nothing before him but the dark, endless blue of the pool. 

“Who’s there?!” He yelled, only to be met by his own eerie echo. Whoever it had been, they hadn’t had the courage to stick around to face Riddle’s wrath, not knowing that he was hardly in any condition to be raining down his wrath on anybody. 

Emotions flitting between confusion, anger and exasperation, Riddle began to swim circles, a repetitive motion he had come to find quite calming in this form. Now that he was here, it was going to be a whole hour before he turned back, so he might as well just cool off his head and think. Now, who could possibly be responsible? Who would bear such a grudge against him? 

Who was he kidding? There was no end to the number of people who probably despised him in his dorm alone. Perhaps those closest to Riddle had forgiven his past tyranny in light of his overblot, but he couldn’t say the same for the rest of his house. Of course there were still those who held a grudge. Of course a two year reign of terror wasn’t about to be forgiven with an apology and some tears. Riddle was trying his best to change. He was trying and yet...was that enough? He recalled how he had lost his temper just the night before, in a manner that even he recognized as unreasonable. In the eyes of others who weren’t privy to his innermost thoughts, perhaps it looked like he wasn't trying to change at all. 

How many times had Riddle lost his temper this week? In the last month? In the events following his overblot? How many times had he been an unreasonable stickler for the rules? Looking back, it felt like far too many times. Did that mean he deserved to be pushed into a pool? Of course not; that was unacceptable behaviour regardless. But Riddle couldn’t say he didn’t understand where that anger was coming from. 

Perhaps it was true that he had to try harder. Not that that acknowledgement was going to stop him from hunting down whoever had had the gall to do this when the hour was up.

The unfortunate thing about being a Goldfish was that there was no way of checking the time, nor did he have any way of figuring out how much longer he had left without anyone else around to tell him. All Riddle could do was wait, and wait, and wait, until finally he felt a familiar ache begin to rack his tiny form. He braced himself for the transformation to take hold. There was a moment of breathlessness as his gills vanished, a dull throb…

And then, nothing.

Riddle waited, and waited, and then stopped swimming. He could breathe again, he realized, as he felt the water pass through his gills once more. This wasn't right. He was supposed to turn back on the hour, so why hadn’t that happened yet? Why wasn't he turning back into a human?

The realization hit him belatedly, his tiny heart sinking. It was the water. He was still in the water. The transformation had started, he had felt it. But being submerged still, he had immediately reverted back into a fish. So long as he remained in the water, he wouldn’t turn back into a human.

So long has he remained in the water, he was stuck like this. 

Panic began to seize him, as he began to swim. He couldn’t make out the edge of the pool with his limited vision, but if he kept swimming in a single direction, sooner or later he was bound to come upon it eventually. And so Riddle swam, flapping his fins in desperation. After swimming for what seemed like an age, Riddle at last caught a glimpse of the blue tiled surface in the distance. This was certainly no goldfish bowl; if he wasn’t careful he could become hopelessly lost in the vast expanse. Floating just under the surface, Riddle glanced up at the impossible distance between him and the pool’s edge. The distance that was to his human body but a step away, looked like an insurmountable cliff with his now diminutive size. knowing that even if by some miracle he managed to propel his tiny body up there, there was nowhere for him to go.

His class had been the last to use the pool for the day, and with no club activities that afternoon, it was very unlikely that anyone would come by until classes resumed the next morning. If all else failed, was he going to be stuck here all night? And even then, if someone did find him in the morning, he would have no choice but to explain the situation, a predicament he absolutely did not want to find himself in if he could help him. If ever there was a look of determination on a goldfish’s face, Riddle would have been wearing it just then.

He spent the rest of the hour doing a couple of practice jumps, pacing himself so he wouldn’t be too tired when the transformation hit. He found that he could maintain quite a significant airtime for his size, though each attempt saw him fall short of the height he needed to throw himself over the edge. When at last he felt the familiar yet strange sensation begin to ripple across his body, Riddle swam into position and flipped himself out of the water with all his might, only to collide with the tiled wall of the poolside. Flopping back into the water, he immediately shook off the pain and dove right back in, lining himself up for another jump, repeating the process until the telltale tingle of the transformation finally faded. 

His first attempt had failed; so what? It only meant he had to keep trying until he succeeded. And try he did, resting up until the next hour hit. He tried again, and again.

At the end of the third transformation, Riddle could barely move his fins. Every part of him hurt, and there was an ache in his belly that seemed to grow worse with every passing second. Exhausted beyond belief, he allowed himself to drift aimlessly in the water. It had now been four hours since he’d been trapped here. Evening was beginning to fall, and Riddle could feel all hope of escape fading with the last rays of the sun, leaving him floating in a pool of inky black. As he’d expected, no one had come in since. No one would find him until the next day. Who would even notice his absence? Trey, perhaps, but beyond that, he found it unlikely that anyone else would worry. And Even if anyone thought to look for him, would they ever think to look here? 

He was starting to feel sleepy. Riddle recalled how Azul had emphasized that every time he transformed, the change ate away at his energy continuously. Azul had even made it a point to ensure that Riddle was fed afterwards. He had never thought to ask what would happen if his energy was ever fully spent. 

It was going to be dinner time soon. Riddle imagined he would have been hungry if his overwhelming exhaustion hadn’t overwritten every other physical need. He knew fish slept with their eyes open, but he had never quite understood how until now. He could feel his consciousness beginning to fade, his grip on reality being gently pulled away by his need for rest. Perhaps it was necessary to recover his strength, he reasoned as he began to give in. Maybe he’d feel up to trying again after a short nap.

Just a short nap.

\----- 

To say that Floyd Lech had been in a foul mood since the previous night was a gross understatement. Foul didn’t even begin to describe it. It was no secret that the Leech twins inspired fear in most of the student population, what with their towering heights and mafia henchmen personas. But today, everyone around Floyd seemed to find him particularly terrifying; the mere sight of him walking down the hallway with a perpetual scowl was enough to send groups of students scattering, like frightened schools of fish fleeing from a prowling predator. It was just as well; today, Floyd had no guarantee that he wasn’t going to bite. While he may have relished their reactions any other day, today everything seemed grating, so much so that by the start of fifth period he’d decided that enough was enough and that he was going to skip classes for the rest of the day.

Of course, on his way back to Octavinelle, he just had to run into the catalyst for his current state of mind.

Turning on his heel the instant he’d seen Riddle had been more of an instinct than a conscious decision. In both cases, it was a first for him. While mood swings were hardly out of the ordinary for him, Riddle had never been someone he’d ever thought to avoid, even when his temper was at its worst. But today, the mere sight of red hair set unpleasant memories of last night’s argument replaying in his head. Everything about that conversation needled at him in a way that immediately made him want to think about literally anything else. It was annoying, the way his irritation spiked, the way the recollection of Riddle yelling had made something drop to the pit of his stomach. It wasn’t the way Riddle usually yelled at him, face red with indignation, cheeks puffed up like his aquatic namesake. This time had been different. This time, a nerve had been struck. 

Things had been going just fine until Algae had gotten involved. He’d known the instant the green haired menace had shown up beside Riddle that nothing good could come out of having him around. This happy accident had at last given him a prime opportunity to hang out around Riddle more often, but in a flash that opportunity had been ruined by the vice dorm leader’s presence. As expected, according to Jade, the third year was anxious to hurry the process of curing Riddlet along. For the hundredth time Floyd cursed the third year under his breath. Perhaps if he asked, Azul might be willing to make a deal to inflict an actual curse upon him.

The soft click of the door opening at last caused him to stir from where he lay, lounging on his bed. He watched as Jade cautiously stuck his head through the door, noting his brother’s presence before stepping into the room they shared.

“I couldn’t find you at lunch, have you just been here all day?” 

Floyd replied by mumbling something inaudible and turned away on his side. He didn’t feel particularly up to conversation just then. Not even with his twin.

“Well...you can miss a few more classes without falling into the red for now.” Jade continued coolly, clearly more than used to dealing with his brother's moods. “Though I wouldn’t recommend making a habit out of it. It would be quite the problem if they decided to hold you back a year.”

Floyd said nothing, watching as Jade picked his haphazardly discarded school blazer off the floor and hung it neatly in its place on the rack. He did the same for Floyd’s discarded loafers, setting them aside as his brother’s gaze tracked his movements in contemplative silence. 

“Why doesn't Azul just end this whole thing already.”

“If I recall correctly, you were the one who wanted it dragged out.” Jade reminded him, knowing better than to ask what Floyd was referring to. 

“Yeah but...I’m bored of this.” Playtime with goldfish Riddle had sounded like a great idea at first, but the way things had developed had gone far beyond Floyd’s expectations, and not in a good way. The idea of having to confront Riddle again at some point filled him with that same, annoyingly unfamiliar hollow sensation that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. “It’s too much of a pain.” 

“Well, even if Azul wanted to hurry up the process, he can’t.” Jade explained, as he sat down at the edge of the bed. “The scale of the problem has since exceeded his expectations. Just yesterday he confessed that his initial estimate of a few days might not be sufficient to produce a remedy. After all, we still have yet to acquire a sample of the coral itself; without that, we can’t move forward.”

“Eeeeeeh...” So this presented a problem even for Azul. Floyd let out a huff of exasperation. Even if he wanted to wash his hands off of all this, Azul and Jade were still bound to be wrapped up in it. Which meant that he was stuck too, whether he liked it or not.

“Still, you’ve had a change of heart rather quickly.” Jade noted. “What made you change your mind?”

“Nothing...” 

“Are you still upset over your fight with Riddle?” Ugh. It was times like this that he wished he wasn’t practically telepathically connected to his twin. Jade had always been good at reading people, and Floyd in particular was an open book to him, even when he didn’t want to be. He glared at his twin, noticing that Jade was trying and failing not to look smug about being right on the money. “You know, I’ve heard there’s a particular method land-dwellers use to work through their disagreements. I believe they call it, ‘talking to the other person’.”

“Jade.” Came the unspoken warning to leave him alone.

“Floyd.” Was the unfazed reply he received. Floyd scowled.

“I’m serious.”

“As am I.” Jade retorted, cool as a cucumber, though any further comments from his brother were nipped in the bud, as a soft buzz drew Jade’s attention to the phone in his pocket. “Oh, it’s Trey.”

“Blegh, Algae.” Floyd stuck out his tongue in distaste, his scowl deepening. “Why’s he calling you?”

“I don’t know. Excuse me.” Jade drifted away, though not far enough that Floyd could’t hear his brother’s side of the conversation with clarity. 

“Hello, Trey? Yes, this is Jade. Ah yes. Yes...no, I haven’t seen him since classes ended. Floyd? Well, he’s here, but--” Jade shot a fleeting glance over at his twin, who made hand signals asking what on earth was going on. Why was Algae asking about him? “Yes, one moment.”

With a beep, Jade set the device on speaker, laying it on the bed between them.

‘As you were saying?“

‘Ah....yeah, uh...Floyd? This is Trey. I just asked Jade the same thing but, have you seen Riddle recently?“ Ugh, of course it was about Riddle. This was everything Floyd didn’t want to deal with rolled up into a ball and shoved in his face. 

“Don’t know~” Floyd insisted, turning aside, feeling like being particularly unhelpful just then.

“Don’t--? That’s...Is that a yes or a no?”

“Floyd’s been in his room all day skipping classes, so that’s quite impossible.” Jade offered on his sulking brother's behalf. “Is there a reason you thought he’d be with us?”

“No... I didn’t actually I just...” Was it just him or did Algae sound a little worried. “He was supposed to be here overseeing dorm duties. He hardly ever misses something like that. I’ve called his phone a few times but he isn’t responding, so I wondered if perhaps something had happened.”

“Rest assured that we would have informed you immediately if that had been the case.” Jade assured him, though Floyd rolled his eyes, his annoyance growing. “Needless to say Riddle isn’t with either of us.”

“I see...” Trey went quiet for a moment before continuing. ‘Just to be sure, could you ask Azul as well?“

“Why’re you making such a fuss?” Floyd interjected suddenly, leaning over the receiver. “Goldfish isn’t some helpless minnow that you have to tail about constantly. It’s annoying.”

“If it’ll put your mind at ease, I’ll ask Azul, though the answer will likely be the same.” Jade agreed, pushing Floyd away with a firm palm to his forehead. “I understand your concerns, considering Riddle’s current state. We’ll keep an eye out during dinner. Riddle is quite studious after all. Perhaps he simply lost track of time.”

“Maybe. Or at least, I hope that’s the case.” Trey sighed. “Thanks. Just...send me a message or something if you hear anything.”

“Hm...that is quite troubling.” Jade mused as he hung up, staring at his now silent phone. 

“Is it.” Floyd retorted with complete disinterest.

“Yes, just a little. Now, it’s time for dinner. Are you coming Floyd, or are you going to keep sulking?”

Having skipped lunch, he had to admit he was quite hungry. Being in absolutely no mood to go through the trouble of cooking for himself just then, Floyd relented and got to his feet, reluctantly following Jade to the dining hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for leaving this on a cliffhanger but the next chapter should see the thrilling and hopefully satisfying conclusion to this little incident. Thank you once again for all your lovely comments.
> 
> Until next update.


	5. Acclimating to Warmer Waters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s Goldfish this, Goldfish that.” Floyd cut in irritably. “Why’s everyone suddenly so obsessed with tracking his every movement?”
> 
> “My, my, how the tables have turned.” Jade retorted snidely. ‘Usually that’s your job.“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the horrendously late update; it turns out that switching perspectives in the middle of your story to a character that you find difficult to write is, in fact, not the best idea. I can't say I'm fully satisfied with how this ended up, but at last the three part mini-saga has come to an end.
> 
> I could not think of a witty title for this chapter for the life of me, but I refused to call it "Part two of chapter 4".
> 
> Please enjoy.

“Riddle?” Azul asked, eyebrows raised in Jade’s direction, as his Vice Dorm Head looked back at him from across the table. “No, can’t say that I’ve seen him today. Why do you ask?”

This was not the dinnertime conversation that Floyd had signed up for, and he’d long since found his attention drifting away as he lay face down on the table, having picked at his food without really eating it. In the end, he hadn’t had much of an appetite, and despite Azul’s nagging about his inappropriate table manners, Floyd hadn’t been in much of a mood to fix that either. In the end, the Dorm Head had given up and resorted to ignoring him, resigning to the fact that Floyd was simply being his usual, temperamental self. That suited Floyd just fine; he would rather be ignored that hounded for reasons he couldn’t care less about just then. He would have left and gone back to Octavinelle on his own, but his desire to do anything was practically non-existent. Besides, something else was keeping him in place. Mismatched eyes couldn’t help but scan the dining hall for the familiar head of red hair, belonging to a certain goldfish that everyone seemed to be fretting about. 

“He hasn’t been seen since class ended.” He heard Jade explain. “He seems to have missed tending to some of his dorm responsibilities, which I must admit, is quite out of character. Trey has been a little worried.”

“Well, as I said, I haven’t seen him all day,”Azul reiterated. ” Shouldn’t you know better Jade? You’re in the same class after all.”

“I haven’t seen Riddle since our last lesson at the pool today.” Jade confessed as Azul raised his eyebrows.

“The pool? A treacherous place to be at in his condition.”

“Of course, he didn’t swim. But I can say with certainty that that was the last time I saw him.”

“Hm...odd.” Azul hummed, taking a bite of his squid ink pasta. “I would assume that Riddle would be a little more cautious considering his current predicament. I can’t imagine that he would simply vanish without a reason--”

“It’s Goldfish this, Goldfish that.” Floyd cut in irritably. “Why’s everyone suddenly so obsessed with tracking his every movement?”

“My, my, how the tables have turned.” Jade retorted snidely. ‘Usually that’s your job.“

Floyd was less than three seconds away from smacking his twin upside the head, when something even more unpleasant scurried into his field of vision. 

“Azul, have you--?”

“I’ve just asked him.” Jade replied smoothly before a flustered Trey could even catch his breath enough to finish his question. Floyd frowned, as he always did wherever Algae was involved in anything. The Vice Dorm Head looked as if he’d been running about since they’d spoken on the phone, his plaid complexion betraying the extent of his worries. “And no, Azul has not seen head or tail or Riddle. That is to say, tail both figuratively and literally.“

“Then, I have no idea where he’s gone.” Trey blurted out in a fit of panic. “I’ve asked everyone I could think to ask and no one knows where he is.”

“Please calm down.” Jade soothed as Trey began to pace anxiously by their table. “Our last class ended at around 3PM. Has anyone been able to confirm that they’ve seen him since?”

“No....no….I’m pretty sure that you’re the last one who can say for certain that they’ve seen him.” Trey tried to think. “He didn’t return to the dorms after class, nor does anyone remember him going to the library or seeing him in the gardens. I’ve even asked the prefect of the Ramshackle Dorm. Nothing.”

“So, it’s been over four hours since he’s last been seen.” Azul surmised, pushing up his glasses. “In any other situation a four hour absence is hardly a reason to panic, but with Riddle’s condition lasting up to an hour, if he somehow found himself in a predicament where he was trapped, or worse, faced with a lack of water--”

The sound Trey made at Azul’s suggestion reminded Floyd of someone trying very hard to breathe as they were being strangled. Was this really something worth freaking out over? He supposed it was; a fish out of water was a dead fish after all. Still, that wasn’t likely, was it? Riddle was hardly so careless. 

But then again, accidents did happen. Wasn’t this entire situation the result of an accident? If yet another ill-timed mishap had left Riddle in a dangerous situation, then...

Then...what? Like a broken record, the last words Riddle had yelled at him echoed in his head. Floyd’s lips pulled taut at the memory, brows furrowing as his mood once again curdled like spoiled milk. 

“If something were to happen that warranted the school’s investigation and Octavinelle’s involvement was discovered...”

“That’s your concern?” Trey glared at a contemplative Azul, visibly livid.

“We’ll help you look.” Jade assured, cutting off whatever additional criticism had been about to come out of the third year's open mouth. “We’ll cover more ground that way.”

Floyd remained oddly silent. Stubbornness still tugged at him, the thought of doing literally anything to help Trey filling him with distaste. Not to mention that for some reason, Riddle was the absolute last person he wanted to see just then. 

“Azul and I will check the library and study halls. Perhaps you can try the stables? It’s possible something might have come up concerning his club. Floyd can look around here. There’s a possibility he could show up at the dining hall while we’re all gone after all.” Jade very clearly sensed his brother's reluctance, and shrewdly assigned him the task which required the least effort, giving him little reason to refuse. Floyd knew as much, and secretly hated his twin for being so underhanded. 

“Alright.” Trey agreed with a swift nod. “If anyone finds anything, don’t hesitate to call it in.”

The group split, leaving Floyd on his own to half-heartedly carry out his own assignment. Without anyone left to needle him any further, the merman was left with nothing to occupy him but his own thoughts. He was far more used feeling emotions and not at all used to thinking about them, which unfortunately, was the only thing that seemed to fill his mind.

Since setting foot in Night Raven College, Riddle Rosehearts had been a presence that Floyd had become acutely aware of. Their first encounter had occurred at the entrance ceremony, where Floyd had inevitably become the catalyst for unexpected chaos and Riddle had been quick to help restore order. They were polar opposites, and in that opposition, Floyd had always found an endless source of entertainment. It was funny seeing Riddle try to assert himself, like watching a guppy trying to look threatening in front of a shark. He relished the way Riddle's face cycled through shades of red until it finally hit that brilliant crimson that matched his hair. He found it eternally fascinating how someone so tiny could go on shouting for so long. Riddle was always so high-strung; just like a pufferfish, even the slightest poke would have him flaring up in a fit of rage. Floyd had always found immense satisfaction in eliciting these responses, no matter how angry Riddle got.

Last night had been different.

He didn’t know what exactly it was about that outburst that ticked him off; it wasn’t as if it had been the worst talking to that Riddle had ever given him. Floyd was certain that there had been times when Riddle had yelled so much louder, and that had never bothered him. And yet, the surge of annoyance he’d felt last night had been incomparable to anything he’d ever felt before. He remembered feeling as if something sharp had pierced his chest, an unfamiliar, stinging pain. Riddle’s enraged declaration still rang all too clearly in his head. That, in particular, seemed to have entrenched itself into his mind, the memory replaying when he least expected it. 

Even if my life depended on it, I still wouldn’t choose you.

Why had that proclamation bothered him so much? Out of everything that Riddle had ever hurled at him, why had that stuck? Floyd wasn’t an idiot, as much as he enjoyed acting the fool. He actively chose to annoy the heck out of Riddle, because it was fun. He knew all too well that Riddle didn’t appreciate the unwanted attention Floyd showered upon him, but he did it anyway. More than likely, the Dorm Head of Heartslabyul only saw Floyd as a persistent annoyance who just wouldn’t go away, and that was perfectly fine with him.

It...was fine, wasn't it?

He’d always enjoyed the thrill of chasing Riddle down with a grin on his face, but there was something just as enjoyable about having a simple conversation. There had been something unexpectedly entrancing about watching Riddle devour a home cooked meal with such earnest wonder. There had been something nice about being asked questions and telling stories that Riddle listened to with genuine interest. Annoying Riddle was fun, but actually talking to Riddle was...better. So long as this goldfish problem persisted, Floyd had an excuse to keep talking to Riddle, to keep experimenting with this newfound realization.

All that had come to a screeching halt when Algae came into the picture. Algae, who was immediately overprotective and distrustful. Algae, who just by existing, seemed to suck up every last drop of Riddle’s attention and affection by simply existing. Algae, who Riddle defended just as quickly as he dismissed Floyd. Algae, who made him want to gag. Yuck. 

If Algae hadn’t gotten involved, then everything would’ve been fine. If he hadn’t shown up, Floyd could have simply kept hanging out with Riddle. Or at least, that’s what he decided to tell himself. The alternative was that Riddle’s contempt towards him was simply far greater than he had ever imagined, and that was a thought that Floyd found himself unwilling to even entertain. 

His face crumpled into a frown, his feet taking him on a half-hearted and utterly aimless tour of the hallways. He was supposed to be looking for Riddle, but really, where on earth was he meant to look? Floyd highly doubted he’d simply run into Riddle wandering the corridors. Practically dragging himself along, Floyd was all but ready to give up before he’d even begun looking, when something odd caught his attention. 

The dining hall had multiple entrances, and from the exit that Floyd had walked out of, he noticed a suspicious figure lurking just behind a pillar in the hallway. Whoever it was seemed to take care to keep out of sight, but peeked out every so often to cast a worried glance into the dining hall as if looking for something. Or someone, perhaps. Floyd recognized the student, only because his constant crashing of Jade’s lessons led him to have some vague idea of who his brother’s classmates were.

But Jade’s classmates were also Riddle’s classmates.

Interest piqued, Floyd stalked closer, silent and unseen. The student leaned forward, and this time, Floyd caught a glimpse of something that sealed his interest in stone; around the second year’s neck, was a distinct, heart shaped collar. Riddle’s collar.

Sneaking quietly around until he stood behind the unsuspecting student, Floyd slapped a hand onto his shoulder, catching a hold of him when he least expected it.

“Baaa~”

Floyd wasn’t quite sure if it was a scream or a yelp that left the students lips. It sounded like a mangled hybrid of both He tried and failed to scramble away, finding himself suspended in mid air, a firm hand holding him up by the collar of his blazer. Floyd held him up so their faces were almost level. “What’s a little minnow like you doing sneaking about out here? And why do you have Goldfish’s collar on?”

“G-G-G-Goldfish?”

“Goldfish. Your dorm head.” He repeated, giving the other a rough shake. “What’d you do?”

“I, um-- no, this is...um...”

“It’s not a difficult question. Is it really that hard to answer?” Floyd narrowed his eyes, irises gleaming dangerously in the dim light. “Should I squeeze you? ”

“N-N-No!! P-Please, don’t, I just--!!”

He was terrified, spluttering incoherently, unable to get so much as a sentence together. At this point, Floyd wasn’t sure if scaring him any further was going to produce results. Fortunately, when it came to extracting information others were unwilling to part with, he knew the best people for the job. 

\-----

“You found him skulking about out here?” It hadn’t taken long for the rest of the search party to assemble once Floyd had sounded the alarm. Looking at the group that had the poor student surrounded, one could have been forgiven for thinking that something incredibly untoward was happening. That might not have been too far removed from reality; depending on how forthcoming their captive was, there was a good chance the situation might evolve into a full scale, mafia-style interrogation. 

“He won’t say anything.” Floyd complained, still effortlessly lifting the poor second year off the ground. “Or he can’t. All he does is gasp and glub like a dying fish.”

“Is that so?” Jade stepped forward with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, tugging menacingly at his gloves. “Well, that won’t do. If there’s something he’s hiding with regards to Riddle, then perhaps I should--”

“Wait.” Trey interjected, holding out a hand to stop Jade as he stepped in front of the advancing merman, regarding his fellow dorm member with a stern look. The Vice-Dorm Head almost seemed to be silently declaring that this was his jurisdiction as the residents of Octavinelle fell back in silence. 

“You’re one of the students that Riddle assigned to feed the flamingos as a punishment for breaking the Queen’s rules, correct? But you didn’t show up to fulfil your duties. I’m assuming it’s because you had this around your neck.” He glanced at the heart shaped collar and then back up at the trembling student. “I’m well aware of who Riddle has beheaded and for what reason, and you’re not among them. Which means that you were only just beheaded, weren’t you?”

“I...I um…” 

“I know you’re afraid of further punishment. Maybe you believe that you were unfairly punished in the first place. And while that might be the case, you should know just as well that there’s a right way to seek out justice and wrong way. An innocent person has no reason to fear, and yet you’re shaking all over. I’ll give you one last chance; tell us whatever happened and I’ll ensure you’re dealt with fairly.”

They watched as the student’s lower lip trembled. “I-I’m sorry! I was just so upset at the Dorm Head, I don’t know what I was thinking! I shouldn’t have pushed him into the pool!!”

The silence that followed was deafening, as Floyd felt the weight of those words sink into his chest, along with the chilling realization of what they meant. 

“Into...the pool, you said?” Azul managed after a moment’s hesitation. Floyd could see the gears in his head turning, his expression morphing as he came to a conclusion that he clearly did not like. “If he’s been submerged in water this entire time...with that body…”

“Wouldn’t he turn back?” Trey interjected, coming to the same horrifying realization.

“...No, water would stop the transformation.” Azul bit his lip, clearly cursing his lack of foresight. They had tested many things when it came to Riddle’s transformation, but this wasn’t one of them. “Every second he’s in that state drains energy, so if he’s been stuck like that for several hours...” 

There was something about the way that Azul had said that, the way he trailed off ominously at the end, that Floyd did not like. It felt like a cold splash of water to the face, a sobering realization that Riddle might actually be in danger. Serious danger.

“We need to get him out of there immedia-- Wha--?! Floyd?!”

The moment that reality hit, Floyd had stopped listening. In fact, Floyd seemed to have stopped thinking, his body moving on instinct as he dropped the captive student without a second thought and simply started running. He could hear yelling behind him, footsteps hot on his heels fading within mere seconds as he left the other three in the dust. Using his legs wasn't something that came naturally to him; a creature of the ocean, he had gone through great pains to simply learn how to walk. None of that seemed apparent just then, as Floyd was running like it was all he was born to do. 

A blur of purple, black and aquamarine, shot from one corridor to the next, leaping over banisters and down entire flights of stairs until he was finally on the campus grounds. Even then, Floyd didn’t stop sprinting, not even when the dorm head of Scarabia and his second-in-command tragically happened to stumble into his path. 

“Like I said, you’re being too lax about this.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine! Isn’t it good to be a little lax once in a while?”

“Not in this-- wait, do you hear that?”

Instead of slowing down, Floyd instead began to pick up speed, arms cutting through the air at ninety-degree angles like a trained athlete. 

“Move, Sea Snake, Sea Otter!!” He yelled over Kalim’s scream. Before either of them could so much move a muscle, Floyd had already launched himself into the air, palms firmly placed on either of their shoulders as he vaulted over their heads. Even as his feet hit the ground, he could hear Kalim and Jamil being bowled over like skittles behind him.

“Uwahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!”

“Get back here!! Floyd!!!”

Jamil’s angry voice was lost in the wind, as Floyd wasted no time on apologies or even a glance back. There was no time for that. Or for anything. All Floyd knew was that he had to make it to the pool. He had to make it to Riddle before it was too late. Please. 

Please? Had Floyd ever been so desperate for anything in his life? As black loafers pounding against the ground in time with his rapidly beating heart, Riddle’s last words to him replayed endlessly in his head like an ominous prophecy. 

I’d rather die.

He wasn’t about to let those careless words become reality.

The door was shut when he arrived at the complex, locked as it always was when it wasn’t in use. Floyd wasn’t about to let that slow him down, as he whipped out his magic pen. Frost began to coalesce around the lilac gem as he shot a blast of ice that instantly froze the lock. With one well aimed kick, the lock, along with a good chunk of the door, shattered. 

By the time he burst through the doors of the indoor pool, his lungs were burning in a way that gills never would. With no time to curse the fragility of his human body, Floyd’s gaze flew across the darkened complex, scouring the inky water until he noticed pieces of a distinct red, black and white school uniform floating in the water. That was all the confirmation he needed to take two steps back and break into a running start forward. There was the distinct sound ripping of fabric as Floyd transformed mid-jump and dove head first into the pool.

\-----

When Riddle finally awoke, the sky looked darker than ever before. He couldn’t begin to fathom just how many hours he’d lost to slumber, but the brief reprieve hadn’t even brought him the rest he craved. In fact, Riddle now felt even more exhausted than before. It was the effect of the transformation. It had to be. 

Set adrift in the still water, Riddle felt the once dull pain in his gut grow distinctly sharper. He’d read in his research that Goldfish weren’t meant to live in deeper waters; apparently it put too much stress on their swim bladders, so they preferred to keep to the shallows. That explained the pain, but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Any attempt to wriggle his fins resulted only in failure, as his own body refused to obey his will. At this point, any further attempt to get himself out of the pool was well out the question. Riddle was painfully aware that there was nothing else he could do but wait. 

Tiredly, he glanced skyward, wondering just how much longer he had to endure until sunrise. What time could it possibly be? Midnight? The wee hours of the morning? Or perhaps it had only been a few minutes since he’d fallen asleep and it only felt like forever.

He didn’t think he could take much more of this. He didn’t think he was physically capable of enduring any more than he already had. Riddle just felt so...drained. He felt more exhausted than he’d ever felt in all his life as the transformation slowly sapped away at his magic and at his strength. At this rate, it would keep going until there was nothing of him left.

Was he...was he going to die?

The realization hit him hard, and though he no longer had lungs, he suddenly found it hard to breathe. He was only seventeen, and yet, here he was, under circumstances he never could’ve imagined, on death’s doorstep. Under the burden of expectations and responsibilities, Riddle often forgot that he was still a child. He still had so much he wanted to accomplish, so much he still needed to fix. To have it all end so abruptly was far too cruel. It was too unfair. 

He had never been one to cry easily, but every fiber of his being wanted to break down in tears, in a body that ironically didn’t even have that capability. He wanted to scream, but he could barely even muster the energy to speak. Everything hurt. More than anything, he just wanted it to stop. He wanted someone to make it stop. 

Somebody, he thought pointlessly into the watery abyss. Anybody. 

A sudden splash set the water rocking with violent waves, jolting Riddle awake with a burst of adrenaline. The Goldfish’s survival instinct kicked in immediately as his startled form went into overdrive, though the fear was quickly overwhelmed by pain as he tried in vain to swim. Everything in him was screaming at him to move, to get away, because there was something in the water. He could feel the water swirl and shift beneath him, hearing the ominous vibrations as whatever it was started to draw closer. He could only watch in horror as a long shadow cut through the darkness, growing steadily larger, before darting upwards all at once to break the water's surface. Riddle felt the current sweep him away, right into sharp, waiting claws.

“Goldfish?”

Wait a minute. 

Riddle’s vision focused, for the first time taking note of seafoam hair and skin that was now close enough to see, alongside fan-like fins in place of ears. The tell-tale sharp teeth were hidden behind parted lips, but Riddle could’ve recognized those mismatched eyes anywhere. 

“Floyd?”

“Goldfish!!”

Floyd’s yelling felt like thunder, reverberating through his tiny body in a way that made him cringe as much as a fish could. The merman had him cupped gingerly in both hands, his goldfish body still submerged under the water. At the same time, Floyd’s palms were raised just enough to allow Riddle’s belly to rest on a solid surface. Now that he recognized the supposed predator that he assumed was trying to eat him, his goldfish instincts faded enough for logic and reason to return to him. 

“Don’t shout.” He pleaded weakly, too tired to be any sterner than that. “What’re you...how…?”

“You’ve been missing for hours.” Floyd heaved, seeming to understand Riddle’s question, even without him finishing it. He seemed to be breathing hard, his chest rapidly rising and falling with every laboured pant. There was a slight pause as something akin to guilt flashed across Floyd’s face for reasons that Riddle didn’t understand. “Algae was worried.”

“...Trey?” Of course. Leave it up to Trey to notice when something was wrong, like he always did. Once again, Riddle felt the overwhelming and impossible urge to cry. “Is he...here too?”

“Not yet...I ran really fast.” Now that he mentioned it, Floyd looked way too out of breath for a Merman in the water. “Really, really fast.”

Relief flooded over him like a tidal wave, so overwhelming that for a moment he couldn’t even think of what to say. He was just so grateful that Trey had thought to look for him, so grateful that Floyd was here. He was grateful that he was no longer floating helplessly in an endless abyss, wondering if he was going to die. He was grateful that he was no longer alone. 

He must have started to doze off out of sheer relief, because the next thing he registered was Floyd gently but insistently swishing him around in the water, trying to shake him awake. 

“You can’t sleep!!” Maybe it was the haze of drowsiness starting to take over, but he could’ve sworn that Floyd sounded almost frantic. An urgent poke to his side made him whine in frustration, as he was forcefully pulled back to consciousness. “You have to tell me when you’re turning back!”

“Right...oh right. I suppose I do have to...” He’d almost forgotten. The exhaustion was making it hard to keep his thoughts straight. But just as soon as he acknowledged that Floyd was right, he found himself being shaken once more. 

“Gooooldfiiiiiiish!”

“I’m tired.” he complained wearily to a frowning Floyd.

“You can’t.” Floyd insisted more forcefully than ever. Riddle noticed he kept looking over his shoulder. 

“Keep talking.” The merman urged. “As long as you keep talking, you’ll stay awake.”

“Talk....?” Even the effort of talking felt like too much for him to manage. Besides, his mind felt like it was operating at a snail's pace, unable to think of a single topic of conversation. The silence was deafening. “I...don’t...know what to...”

Unwittingly, he began to recall the last conversation he’d had with Floyd. Not that it had been much of a conversation. The argument seemed so distant and unimportant in comparison to what had just happened that Riddle couldn't help but be overcome with shame for his part in it. What did you say after something like that? Riddle had never been very good at apologies. Most of the time, he never found that he needed to. Or perhaps, more often than not, that was simply the result of his own pride and ignorance preventing him from realizing he was at fault. 

“Goldfish doesn't get to choose.”

The statement broke right through his thoughts only because of how utterly mystifying it was, as Riddle found himself staring up at Floyd’s oversized face in confusion. “Choose…? What are you talking about?”

“Between me and dying.”

“Oh.”That’s right. He had said that last night. Riddle remembered now, though he hadn’t expected to stick with Floyd so deeply. It had been such a stupid thing to say, over the top and dramatic, blurted out in a fit of passion. He hadn’t really meant it, and yet it seemed that Floyd had actually taken his words to heart, just as Jade had guessed. “Listen, I didn’t--”

“Goldfish doesn't get to choose.” Floyd repeated stubbornly with a frown, tail slapping against the surface of the water, as if to punctuate a point that Riddle still didn’t geet. “It doesn't matter what Goldfish wants, I won’t let you die.”

Oh. That was not at all the response that Riddle had expected. He honestly didn’t know what he’d expected; a silly reply, a joke or some sort of jibe. He’d expected to be teased even. Absolutely no part of him had even thought to expect something so...wholeheartedly genuine as this. Not from Floyd. For a moment Riddle was simply shocked into silence, not knowing how to respond to...to that.

“Goldfish?” Floyd blinked at the unmoving creature cupped in his palms, starting to panic. “Wait, no way! Did you die?!”

“What?! No, of course not!” If only he had cheeks, Riddle would’ve turned redder than he already was. “No, I just...I um...”

Why was it suddenly so hard to string a sentence together? Glancing at Floyd who stared down at him in worry and confusion. He’d feel awful if he didn’t justify Floyd’s words with a response, but for some reason finding the right words to say just seemed so difficult. 

So Riddle decided to start small.

“I’m sorry.” The word felt foreign on his lips, but he knew that it was the right thing to say, as Floyd’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. “I was angry and I was trying to lash out, but no matter how angry I was there was no excuse for what I said. Regardless of the circumstances, it was horrible and you didn’t deserve that. For that, I want to apologize.”

He looked up tentatively, waiting for some sort of reply. Floyd looked thoughtful as he bobbed in the water. 

“It’s okay. Goldfish didn’t really do anything wrong.” He said at last. “I know I can get out of line sometimes. Besides, it doesn't matter anymore.”

For someone who had been offended to the point of outright avoiding him, the ease with which Floyd was willing to let the matter go was mystifying. Nevertheless, it felt as if a weight had been lifted off his chest with that acceptance. Despite being drained and on the brink of collapse, Riddle somehow felt better than he had all day.

“Floyd.” He started as he felt a familiar breathlessness take hold.

“Yes?”

“I think I’m turning back.”

He might have received some response from Floyd, but Riddle could barely hear it as he felt himself finally lifted out of the water as he felt the familiar ache of the transformation. Perhaps it was from the pain or perhaps it was simply the exhaustion winning out at last, but Riddle’s grip on reality finally gave out as his vision and his consciousness faded to black.

\----

When he finally blinked awake, he was staring at the familiar misshapen red and cream ceiling of his dorm room, swaddled in a plethora of blankets. His body felt as if it was weighed down by stones, muscles aching with every twitch and turn. He turned his head to the side, greeted by the sight of a familiar head of green hair. Trey Clover sat in a chair by his bedside, reading quietly until he noticed that Riddle was wide awake and staring right at him.

“Welcome back.” The third year smiled warmly, unable to contain the relief from flooding into his voice. From his pale complexion alone, Riddle could tell he’d been worried sick. Wordlessly, Trey set the book aside and picked up his phone. 

“I promised I’d let Azul know when you woke up.” He explained, as Riddle glanced toward his window, noting how it was still dark. “I thought it was a fair demand, all things considered.”

“How long was I asleep?” Riddle asked, rubbing his still sleep-heavy eyes the heels of his palms. 

“Almost three hours. I was certain you’d sleep through the night after Azul explained how your body had likely been affected.” Trey sighed, leaning back in his chair. “I knew that the transformation drained your energy but I failed to register just how dangerous it could be.”

“No, no one could have foreseen this.” Riddle shook his head, refusing to let Trey take any of the blame for this onto himself. “How did you manage to find me?” He asked, his mind now slowly recalling the events that had led to his entrapment, suddenly remembering how he’d gotten there. “I was pushed in.”

“That’s exactly how we found you.” Trey assured him, placing a firm hand on Riddle’s shoulder to keep him laying down, even as he tried to sit up in bed. “Floyd found one of our dorm’s students lurking around with your collar on. The second year in your class who was made to feed the flamingos as a punishment? I knew that you hadn’t beheaded anyone lately, so that was immediately suspicious. It wasn’t too long before we pressured him to admit what happened.” 

So that’s what had happened. Riddle distinctly remembered hearing the click of his collar meeting it’s mark. That one spell turned out to be what had saved his life.

“The moment the pieces clicked, Floyd dropped everything and ran; you should’ve honestly seen him go. Jade and I were right on his heels, and even then, we just couldn’t keep up. In the end, we decided we’d make better time summoning our brooms and flying. Even then, Floyd still had us beat.” Trey chuckled, and even Riddle couldn’t find the will to suppress the smile that tugged at his lips. “The door was locked, but he must have frozen the lock and broken it because there was ice everywhere. Oh, and we also had to walk him back to school in a towel. Apparently, he forgot that our school uniform doesn't stretch to accommodate the size of a mermaid.”

Riddle didn’t know if he should be amused or dumbfounded by all of this. But the mirth quickly faded from his expression as another question weighed heavy on his mind. “And the student behind all of this?”

“I’ve spoken to them at length, but I’ll leave their punishment to your discretion” Trey replied seriously. 

Riddle looked down at his hands, fingers wrapped tight around the sheets. He’d had plenty of time for self reflection while floating in the pool. He knew he didn’t simply want to see this ended with more tyranny. The punishment had to fit the crime, but to some degree, Riddle was just as guilty for forcing his attacker’s hand. He had been the one unwilling to listen, guided by bad temper and ill-timing. He’d already resolved that he didn’t want to become the sort of Dorm Head that his house members were too terrified to approach; if he did, he’d be right back where he started. Under any other circumstances, pushing your Dorm Head into a pool would’ve only resulted in an embarrassing, rather than deadly, outcome. 

Yes, the punishment should fit the crime, but first, Riddle was going to listen.

“I’ll have a talk with them.” He decided at last. “In part, this situation was born out of my inability to compromise. There are clearly issues at hand that need to be addressed. I want to hear what he has to say before I make any decisions.”

“Yes, Dorm Head.” Trey smiled, his expression brimming with nothing but pride.

“Of course,” He cleared his throat. “We still have to keep to Rule #203 of the Queen of Hearts, if unexpectedly splashed with water, one must always return the favour threefold, preferably with a garden hose, though a watering can is an acceptable substitute.”

“Right, of course.” Trey smirked. “Whatever you have planned, it’s bound to be better than what the twins had in mind. Floyd was ready to beat the life out of him, and Jade...might have implied that we should tie him up and dunk him in a fish tank? I couldn’t tell for sure. It was very cryptic, and terrifying.”

“Those two? Terrifying? I never would’ve guessed.” Riddle scoffed, right before pausing and letting out a long, deep sigh. It had been a harrowing day, both physically and emotionally. Still, there was one more issue at hand that had yet to be addressed; perhaps the most difficult issue of all, and the one Riddle was the worst at dealing with.

“I don’t understand him.”

“You don’t?” It was incredibly telling that Trey didn’t have to ask who he was referring to.

“No, I don’t.” Riddle retorted, incensed.“He harasses me and then gets upset when I’m actually angry. He hates you for no reason and doesn't understand why that upsets me. He’s moody and unpredictable and does things on a whim without any rhyme or reason. He ignores me one moment and the next, I owe him my life. How am I supposed to understand any of that?”

“That may be true.” Trey responded, oddly calm in the face of Riddle’s agitation. “But I think I understand him well enough.” 

Speak of the devil and he shall appear, Riddle soon discovered, as the door to his room suddenly being thrown open with a deafening bang,

“Goooooooooooldfish!!”

“I know I said it was alright to come over, but I thought we agreed on waiting outside!” Trey exclaimed in exasperation at the twin that should have known better.

“Ah, I see you’ve made the grave error of mistaking Floyd for someone who listens to reason.” Jade responded all too cheerfully, looking not the least bit apologetic as his brother all but shoved Trey out of the way and plopped down on the floor beside Riddle’s bed, arms folded over the covers where he rested his head. Riddle didn’t even have the energy left to look as vexed as he felt, resigned to stare dispassionately at a grinning Floyd as Trey reprimanded Jade in the background.

“You did this on purpose.”

“Oh my, what a troubling accusation.”Jade responded, smiling as he not-so-subtly guided the third year out of the room. “Perhaps we should discuss this outside.”

Even a blind man could see that this was a set up, but it certainly didn’t help when the twins made eye-contact and grinned right before Riddle's very eyes, not even attempting to hide it. 

“Wait, Trey.” Riddle called, just before the two disappeared out of the room. “Thank you.”

“Well, I’m not the only one you need to thank this time.” He smiled, shrugging towards Floyd who definitely stuck his tongue out in return, as if to assert that he didn’t need Trey’s approval. With the silent assertion that he’d be back later, Trey left, leaving Riddle alone in the room.

With Floyd.

For a moment, Riddle didn’t speak, expecting Floyd to just be Floyd and strike up conversation in his usual, annoying Floyd way. To his surprise, Floyd remained as silent as a mouse, doing absolutely nothing besides laying his head on the covers and watching. Seconds passed, then a whole minute, and still nothing, to the point where Riddle was starting to become exceedingly self-conscious. 

“What?” He snapped at the unblinking merman, unsettled by the uncharacteristically quiet merman.

“Nothing~” Floyd hummed, looking oddly content for someone who was just sitting there. There was not a trace of the anger or displeasure from the night before. It was almost as if the argument had never happened. A part of Riddle thought that perhaps it was simply best to leave it that way, to let sleeping fish lie. That would have been the easiest option, but it just didn’t sit right with Riddle. 

Besides, Trey was right; there was someone else he needed to thank.

“I heard you broke down the door.”

“I kicked it open.” Floyd confirmed proudly.

“And you manhandled and threatened one of my dorm’s members?”

“Aha~ His legs were wobbling like a jellyfish~”

“You threatened to beat him up?”

“Yeah, but he deserved it.”

“You know, in this reckless escapade of yours, you’ve broken at least five of the Queen’s rules.” Riddle frowned. “Five, at the very least.”

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh~ Who cares about that?!” Floyd shot up, clearly expecting to be praised instead of reprimanded. “It was an emergency! Though...” The unhappiness in his voice let up as he lay his head back down on the bed. “If Goldfish is back to talking about rules, then you must be fine.”

The implication that Floyd actually cared about his well-being was enough to soften his expression, though their poolside conversation had given Riddle plenty of evidence to that effect. The frown evened out into the beginnings of a reluctant smile.

“That said, your recklessness is the only reason I’m still here to uphold the rules so...thank you.”

“Aha~” It was genuinely heartwarming to see him pleased at receiving something as simple as a thank you. “Goldfish actually praised me for once? Wow~”

“Just this once.” Riddle insisted, hoping this one instant wasn’t going to go to Floyd’s head. Hopefully all that positivity wouldn’t simply evaporate the instant Riddle asked his next question. “Though that said, I still have one last matter I’d like to discuss.”

“Hm~?”

“I wanted to try having this conversation again,” Riddle started slowly. “Considering it didn’t go so well last time. Floyd, why don’t you like Trey?”

In an instant, Riddle witnessed Floyd’s mood practically plummet, as the telltale scowl returned in full force. This time, Riddle was quick to cut off his foul mood.

“I won’t lose my temper.” He assured the other, having no intention of souring their newly mended relationship. Floyd could be exasperating at times, but past everything that was frustrating him, there was something there that Riddle had failed to grasp. Something that people like Trey and Jade could see that he didn’t get. Riddle only wanted to understand. “I promise.”

He could see Floyd fidgeting, still scowling but seemingly struggling, as if giving Riddle’s words serious thought. When at last he did speak, he seemed to choose his words with caution, as if just as unwilling to upset Riddle as Riddle was to upset him. 

“I don’t like that Goldfish gets along with him. When he’s around, you talk to him too much and don’t pay as much attention to anyone else. You smile at each other and it looks like you’re having fun. Goldfish isn’t like that with anyone else. It’s not fair.”

And then all at once, everything clicked, like a gear snapping into place, Riddle understood. 

“That’s...that’s it?”

“That’s it.”

The phrase, ‘it’s not that deep’ rang in his mind, accompanied by the mental image of Jade’s smirking face, as Riddle realized in absolute astonishment that it really wasn’t that deep at all.

Floyd was just jealous.

For so long Floyd had just been this incomprehensible figure, this maddening amalgam of moods that switched at the drop of a hat. He had done nothing but harass him all throughout his school life, chasing him through corridors, making fun of him, annoying him. He had been the bane of Riddle’s existence, and now, Riddle realized, it had all been literally because Floyd had just wanted his attention.

Everything was starting to make sense; from the harassment to the mood swings, how upset Floyd had been during the argument and how frantic he’d been in the pool. Because Floyd really was, as Jade put it, fond of him. Fond enough to become unreasonably jealous over his relationship with his oldest childhood friend, apparently.

Riddle still couldn’t wrap his head about Floyd’s behaviour. But the feeling of wanting to make friends? Wanting to get along with others and wanting to spend more time with them? Riddle understood that feeling completely. As someone who had been placed on a pedestal, fashioned to be a harsh custodian of the rules, Riddle had often wanted nothing more than to experience the simplicities of friendship, fun and enjoyment that everyone else seemed to be having. It was something he was only recently starting to experience within his dorm. 

It was something he was only now realizing might apply to Floyd.

Watching the merman staring up at him with mismatched eyes and a pronounced pout, Riddle couldn't help but see Floyd just a little bit differently. Floyd reminded him of a puppy; a big, oversized puppy, that followed him everywhere, wagging his tail, yipping for attention and begging for affection. Granted, Floyd would make the world's most annoying puppy, but the comparison seemed to hold.

“How foolish. I can’t believe you were upset by something so silly.”

Before a single protest could leave Floyd’s mouth, Riddle patted him on the head.

Watching Floyd’s expression morph from budding anger, to shock, and finally confusion, was absolutely priceless. He could feel the merman freeze up under his palm, as Riddle continued to pat away without a care in the world. 

“Eh….eh?! Goldfish, did you hit your head when you fell in the pool? What’re you doing? Why’re you smiling like that?” Floyd was at a loss for words, looking so unexpectedly terrified that Riddle nearly burst out laughing. “What? What is it? It’s kinda creepy if you just smile without saying anything!‘

“My head is perfectly fine Floyd, but thank you for asking.” Riddle replied coolly. “Now let me make this clear. Trey is my oldest and closest childhood friend. It goes without saying that he’s irreplaceable to me. It’s the same as how no one in your life will ever replace Jade.” Floyd went back to pouting, but he didn’t protest, seemingly willing to let the point sink in. “However, my relationship with Trey is independent of my relationship with anyone else. When all you do is pester someone, you can’t really be surprised when they don’t treat you as nice? ”

“Ehhh...but it’s fun~”

“For you, not for me.” Riddle pointed out. “There are better ways of earning someone’s attention. Like talking.”

Floyd seemed to remember the conversation from two nights ago and nodded. Riddle pulled his hand back. 

“Whatever the case, the point is that you reap what you sow. Trey’s presence won’t change my impression on anyone else; only your own actions decide how I treat you. Is that understood?”

“...Ok.”

Riddle didn’t know if it was the head patting or the fact that he had almost died that was making Floyd so amiable. Him being this docile was nice for a change. 

“And also, could you perhaps not be so aggressive towards Trey?” Riddle tried, pushing his luck with Floyd’s current reasonable temperament as far as he could. “I’m not asking you to stop using your nickname, but if we’re going to be working together from now on, it wouldn’t kill you to be a little nicer.”

“...Do I have to?”

Riddle narrowed his eyes.

Floyd held up one finger. 

“What’s that?”

“One percent.”

“One percent...what?”

“I will try one percent harder to like Algae.”

Riddle frowned. “Can you perhaps try a little harder than just one percent?”

“...two percent.” Floyd relented, unhappily raising a second finger.

“We’re negotiating one percent at a time now?” Riddle sighed. “What about fifty percent?”

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeh, no way! That’s way too much!”

“Alright, five percent. That’s my final offer. In return, I will be...nicer, so long as you aren’t actively trying to make me angry all the time.” Riddle said, even though how much someone liked or disliked a person wasn’t something that could be concretely measured and all this argument over arbitrary percentages was essentially pointless. But it was an indication that Floyd was willing to compromise, which was progress worth noting in his eyes. Riddle extended his hand. “Do we agree?”

Floyd seemed to take a moment to think before breaking out into a wide grin, firmly taking Riddle’s hand.

“Deal~”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that the chapter made up for the cliffhanger last time, and that the conclusion soothed some of the trauma I inflicted as well. Next chapter will hopefully see the return to more lighthearted material. 
> 
> As always, thank you for your lovely encouraging comments. Until next update.


	6. Every Tank has it's Troublemakers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “But Dorm Head, there isn’t anything in the rules that says we can’t compete, is there?”
> 
> Ace flinched ever so slightly at the scathing glare he received for having the cheek to try to use Riddle’s own respect for the rules against him. He resented even more so that the first-year was right.
> 
> “There...isn’t.” He relented at last, albeit slowly and very, very unwillingly. Riddle and Trey exchanged a silent look, both knowing that whatever they said here would fall on deaf ears. Ace and Deuce had a track record of learning only from experience, so their seniors came to a silent agreement.
> 
> Let them learn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have arisen from the grave with fresh content. 
> 
> Once again, I must apologize for my long absence. I was incredibly busy and I've only just managed to find time to take a break from my responsibilities. It'll likely pick up again soon, but in the meantime, I intend to churn out as much content as I humanely can. Ideas have been swimming in my head for months, and I cannot wait to commit them to writing. If you're reading this or have left a comment despite my inactivity, thank you for sticking around. I hope that you enjoy this long overdue update. 
> 
> Additionally, at some point I also started up a side story focusing on Trey and Jade's side of this whole fiasco. That too will likely receive an update soon, so if TreyJade is your cup of tea, consider giving it a read.

In his year and a half at Night Raven College, Riddle had almost never missed a day of class. His proud, untarnished attendance record had already been put to an end once, in the aftermath of his overblot. To see it happen a second time was something he’d fought vehemently to prevent. It was an uphill battle against Azul’s pointed logic and Trey’s unyielding insistence that if he didn’t spend at least a day resting and regaining his strength, he would only be worse for it. They were right, of course. Riddle couldn’t deny that the effects of spending several long hours in the water had taken a severe toll on his body. But the perfectionist in him wanted to scream at the idea of now having two black marks on his record instead of just one. 

In the end, Riddle gave in and allowed Trey to escort him to the infirmary. Thankfully, his pallid complexion, wrought with genuine exhaustion, made it quite easy to convince the nurse that he was unfit for class.

“He ate something that disagreed with him.” Trey explained, as Riddle bit back a snort. It wasn’t that far from the truth after all. 

Thankfully, Azul’s hypothesis was right on the mark when it came to his recovery. With a good day's rest and three full meals, by the next night Riddle felt as healthy as ever. 

“Azul has news to share regarding his research.” Jade announced to both Riddle and Trey, having invited himself over to Heartslabyul on the pretext of bringing Riddle his homework. Azul soon greeted them from behind the screen of Jade’s phone.

“There you are. I have some--”

“Aha~ Is that goldfish?” The top half of Floyd’s face appeared on screen, as Azul was carelessly elbowed out of the way with an audible grunt. “Goldfish~ Did you sleep all day? Do you feel better?”

Ordinarily, this would be Riddle’s cue to chide Floyd for how rude it was to interrupt someone mid-sentence. Today, he couldn’t help but find the show of concern just a little bit endearing.

“I do, Floyd, thank you for asking. Now why don’t you let Azul’s continue?”

“As I was saying,” Azul cleared his throat, shoving his way back in front of the camera as Floyd happily relinquished his place and scuttled off into the background. “I have some bad news.” Riddle could already feel the dread forming in the pit of his stomach as he watched Azul push his glasses up the bridge of his nose. 

“It seems as if it’s quite impossible for anyone to get their hands on the Fantail Coral at the moment. Initial sales were so popular that the product practically flew off the shelves. Apparently, the part of the sea from which they’re harvested is particularly treacherous this time of year, so there’s no chance of it being restocked any time soon.” It was every bit as bad as Riddle had imagined it to be. He practically felt the weight of utter despair bearing down upon him, until Azul cleared his throat once again to suggest that there might be hope yet.

“Fortunately, I anticipated that this might prove to be a problem. I’ve been looking into alternative solutions ever since.” Of course. He should have expected as much from the second coming of the sea-witch. Riddle audibly breathed a sigh of relief as Azul shuffled through papers of what he presumed to be research notes. 

“Considering the complexities of your case, I started looking into some general transformative potions, brews designed to cancel out spells that are already in effect. Under the pretext of intellectual curiosity, I asked Professor Crewell some questions, and I believe I might have discovered a workable alternative. However, it does require the use of a rather peculiar ingredient that we will need to harvest for ourselves; Agaricus Chamaeleonidae, more commonly known as the Transmorphfungi, or the Chameleon Mushroom.”

“Mushroom?” Came the chorus of two similar voices with complete opposite reactions. 

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeh~? Why does it have to be mushrooms?” Floyd whined from the background, with what could only be described as complete devastation. He kicked his legs up into the air like a petulant child and he rolled about on the sofa, as if the mere suggestion of the fungus brought him physical pain. Jade on the other hand, was practically glowing. 

“Ahhh, that’s right.” Trey commented, glancing over at the twin who was smiling from ear to ear. “Jade knows a thing or two about mushrooms, don’t you? You’ve been growing them in the greenhouse.”

“Indeed. I have heard of this particular one in passing, though if I remember correctly, it’s quite a rare species?” Jade glanced towards Azul for confirmation. 

“Unfortunately. I went out on a limb and checked Sam’s shop. Of course, he could obtain the item without issue, for an absurdly exorbitant price.” The obvious distaste on Azul’s face made it clear that he wasn’t going to part with a single cent, let alone a small fortune. “We’re better off trying to harvest one on our own, with the help of our resident mountain expert.”

Right, the Mountain Appreciation Society; occupancy, one Jade Leech. Riddle didn’t understand why Jade had felt the need to create for himself a whole new club, when there were so many perfectly good, well-established ones already. It was quite bizarre to consider a Merman having such an odd obsession with mountains of all things. Though, perhaps the novelty of the concept for a Merman was precisely what fascinated him so. At least it seemed to have more of a reason for existing than a certain Gargoyle Appreciation Society. 

“I’m still in the process of completing my research. We can’t make the trip until the end of the school week, so there’ll be time to make the proper preparations.”

“The end of the week?” Riddle asked, eyebrows raised. “Wouldn’t it be better to go as quickly as possible?”

“Eh, did you forget Goldfish?” Floyd interjected. “We have Magift tryouts from tomorrow.”

“Ah...right.” He had forgotten. It seemed ludicrous that in the midst of all that was happening to him, that a silly game of Magical Shift would have to take precedence. But the inter-school tournament was a huge deal at Night Ravel College, and not something to be taken lightly. Riddle was Dorm Head, not to mention a key player on the Heartslabyul starting lineup; for him to miss tryouts was unthinkable.

“At least while you’re away playing your silly games, I’ll finish pinpointing where we might find what we need.” 

“As Dorm Head, aren’t you expected to be there?” Riddle asked, as Azul regarded him through the screen with a disdainful huff. 

“And waste my time on such a boorish activity when I have more important things to accomplish? No thank you. Jade will oversee our players in my absence.”

“Azul just doesn't wanna go cause he’s bad at sports.” Floyd fake whispered with one hand cupped around his mouth, despite being a good distance from the camera and having to speak much louder than a whisper if he wanted to be heard. Riddle watched Azul’s mouth tighten in a manner that was incredibly telling. “No matter how much he practices, he’s still terrible~ He even made a deal and everything- aha~!” 

A pen thrown at Floyd’s head completely missed its mark, as the eel’s amused laughter caused a hint of pink to creep across Azul’s cheeks.

“Be silent, no one asked for your unnecessary explanation!” 

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, you know?” Trey said quietly as the others bickered. The third year smiled reassuringly even as Riddle opened his mouth to argue, as if reading his thoughts. “No one’s going to blame you if you put yourself first in this situation. I’m sure we can just as easily get another doctor's excuse.”

He was right, of course. But Riddle’s sense of duty wouldn’t let him rest so easily. A day off from school had already left him antsy, and leaving his personal responsibilities in Trey’s hands didn’t sit well with him. He shook his head.

“No, I’ve already rested enough. I’ll attend. Besides, it won’t take too much effort. It’s the exact same process as last year. Just ensure that all our players are ready and gathered on time.”

“Well then, we’ll speak again once tryouts are over.” Azul said, leaning over to end the call, just far enough for Floyd’s grinning expression to pop into view over his shoulder.

“Bye bye Goldfish, see you tomorrow~”

\-----

Magical Shift had always been a big deal at Night Raven College. The school hosted a whole host of the sports clubs, but Magical Shift had always held a coveted position above all the rest. It was the only sport that was played on an inter-dorm level, not to mention the only sport that had a school team not solely made up of club members. Rather, Night Raven College’s inter-school team sought to bring together the best of the best from all years, across all dorms. This was the one time when dorm rivalries were temporarily put aside for the moment, when students squashed their pride in the name of assembling a team that would finally crush their longtime foes at Royal Sword Academy, and bring home the coveted inter-school trophy. Or at least, that was the idea. In reality, making it so that students of seven vastly different dorms with innately selfish tendencies could work together on a single team was a nigh impossible feat. On paper, bringing together players that were the best of the best was a good idea, but these were the very same players that wanted the spotlight entirely for themselves. In the ninety-nine long years since the tournament’s conception, NRC’s greatest enemy had been its team’s complete inability to work as...well, a team. 

Riddle didn’t expect that this year would go any differently; honestly, no one did. But that didn’t mean this year's tryouts were going to be any less competitive. It was a matter of both house and personal pride, and there were few at the school who took that lightly. 

The Magift field that afternoon was a myriad of colours, black jumpsuits with splashes of reds, yellows and lilacs. Riddle’s diminutive form was nearly lost in the crowd as he attempted in vain to lead the Heartslabyul team to their designated places. Thankfully, his Vice Dorm Head wasn’t quite as vertically challenged, and had the good sense to subtly guide the team in the right direction. It was at times like these that he missed the few extra inches his Dorm Uniform afforded him. But heels weren’t exactly the best footwear for flying. 

“This is quite the turnout, a lot more than last year.” Trey commented as they tried to find their way through the throng. 

“Oi, stop wasting my time and get in line.” An annoyed growl rose above the chatter, calling the wanton chaos to order. “Heartslabyul to the left, Scarabia all the way on the right. I don’t care if you’re the best damn player on your team, any herbivores still wandering about are getting thrown the hell off my playing field.”

“I’m surprised Leona’s still in charge this year, what with everything that’s...happened.” Trey raised an eyebrow at the Savannahclaw Dorm Head, who stood fully upright as he hovered overhead, balanced with perfect effortlessness on the shaft of his broom. It was easy to see how Leona had secured his position as not only the head of the most athletic dorm in the school, but also the captain of the school's Magishift team. 

“Well...he shouldn’t have been. But if Savannahclaw was relieved of its duties, the responsibility of organizing tryouts would have fallen to another dorm, and nobody wanted that.” The very public overblot that had occurred during the inter-house tournament was far from forgotten, least of all by Riddle, who had somehow found himself at the very heart of the unfolding sports scandal. The incident seemed to have very little impact, though Riddle knew better than to take that as a sign that all was well. Not everyone dealt with pain or grief the same way, and the only one who really knew what was going on in Leona’s head was Leona himself. 

“There they are. Dorm Head Riddle!”

Now Leona’s barked orders had served their purpose and sent the haphazard crowd scuttling to their places, Riddle could see all too clearly the overly enthusiastic arm waving at them from a distance. He heard a soft chuckle escape Trey as he resisted his own urge to let out an exasperated sigh. 

“You two really don’t listen to a word I say, do you?”

Ace and Duce met their Dorm Leader’s stare with a wide grin and a determined look respectively. Of course, Grimm was there too, accompanied by the sheepish looking prefect of the ramshackle dorm. Behind them stood Jack Howl, who was quick to bow his head in greeting to his seniors. If only he could expect the same level of courtesy from his own incorrigible juniors. 

“You don’t still intend on competing for the position of vanguard, do you?” He asked, already knowing full well what the answer was going to be. “Such flights of fantasy aren’t going to get you anywhere.”

“Well, you know what they say. You never know what’s possible till you try, right?”

“Only fools who don’t understand their limits think like that.” Riddle responded to Deuce’s blind optimism, arms crossed. “Besides, Leona won’t stand for it.”

“That’s what I told them.” Jack interjected, the Savannahclaw first year’s ears swivelling as if checking to make sure that no one else was listening. “Our Dorm Head is already in a bad mood as it is. Apparently the headmaster granted Malleus a spot on the team without having to attend tryouts.”

Owch. Now that was certain to get Leona’s blood boiling. The rivalry between those two was infamous enough to be common knowledge. Though, it wasn’t so much a rivalry as it was Leona being perpetually upset about Malleus’ mere existence. 

“Not to mention the whole Pomfiore team had to reschedule at the last minute thanks to Professor Crewell. Something about an upcoming Alchemy competition. We had to book the field for a second day and split tryouts in half. I’d be careful to get on his nerves if I were you.”

So, this was the absolute worst time to get on Leona’s bad side. Not that there ever was a good time. 

“But Dorm Head, there isn’t anything in the rules that says we can’t compete, is there?”

Ace flinched ever so slightly at the scathing glare he received for having the cheek to try to use Riddle’s own respect for the rules against him. He resented even more so that the first-year was right.

“There...isn’t.” He relented at last, albeit slowly and very, very unwillingly. Riddle and Trey exchanged a silent look, both knowing that whatever they said here would fall on deaf ears. Ace and Deuce had a track record of learning only from experience, so their seniors came to a silent agreement.

Let them learn.

“Very well, in accordance with the rules, you may do as you please. However, let it be clear that I do not support this. Nor will you be competing here as part of the Heartslabyul team.”

“Fine by me!” The duo let out an unearned cheer of victory, as Riddle turned his attention back to his actual team. Even without the instruction of the leader, the Heartslabyul students had all fallen into two perfectly straight rows with a discipline that seemed only to be matched by Savannahclaw’s trained athletes. No one was in the mood to be beheaded after all. Riddle took stock of his players, noting that the Scarabian team was also in the midst of falling in line. That just left- 

“Gooooooldfish~”

Octavinelle, of course. 

“Geh-- Floyd, let go!” He gasped, repeatedly whacking the pair of arms that had found their way around his neck in an unsolicited hug.

“You seem to be in good health today, Riddle.” Jade smiled as Riddle tried in vain to squirm out of his brother’s vice grip.

“I was.” 

“Ah, if it isn’t Crabby~” The eel exclaimed, quickly noticing the presence of the other Basketball Club member. “Eh, but you’re not on the dorm team though?”

“Why does everyone keep saying- that doesn't matter does it?” Ace retorted, seemingly annoyed by the collective lack of faith his seniors seemed to have. “We can try out if we want to!”

“Aha, sure you can~” Floyd laughed, before adding in a lower, far more sinister tone. “As long as you’re not afraid of being eaten.” 

“Wha-?”

“Riddle, it’s about time we started handing out the bibs.” Trey reminded him, smoothly cutting off the mystified first years, who now looked just a little paler than before. “Floyd, would you mind letting him go?”

For a brief moment, Riddle watched with dread as Floyd’s expression shifted to one of plain unhappiness. But the eel’s mismatched eyes flicked towards him, and after a lengthy pause, Floyd let the redhead slip from his grasp without a word of protest. 

“Thank...you?” There was no containing his shock. Riddle had gotten so used to Floyd acting however he wanted that he never expected simply asking nicely would work. Let alone when the person asking was Trey. Floyd seemed to sense his confusion, and with a pout raised up a hand, wiggling his fingers. Five fingers. Five percent. 

“S-Shouldn’t you be helping Jade?” He choked out hastily, quickly trying to avert his gaze as an unfamiliar heat began to creep up his neck. 

“Nah, Jade can handle it. Besides, they know I’ll just squeeze anyone who causes trouble~”

“Well, I have to go sort out my team, so...” Riddle had to admit, that sounded far too much like someone who was obviously trying to get away. But whether Floyd noticed or not, he made no attempt to follow as Riddle scurried away to busy himself with his duties. He pretended not to notice Trey raise an eyebrow, and was grateful when the third-year didn’t try to pursue the matter.

He couldn’t quite say what it was that had him so shaken. A part of him hadn’t really expected Floyd to remember his promise, let alone keep it. Well...it wasn’t as if he’d expected Floyd to intentionally go against their agreement either. Riddle just wasn’t expecting him to be so overt about it. For so long, Floyd had always been utterly unpredictable to him; fickle and whimsical, he was a force that couldn’t be swayed with reason or logic. Floyd did what he wanted, with seemingly little to no regard for what anyone else might want.

The fact that that very same Floyd was now making a conscientious effort to be nicer to Trey, who he clearly still did not like, just because Riddle had asked him to...it was a lot to absorb, to say the very least. 

It took another ten whole minutes for the teams to be ready and at their places; it might have taken a lot longer, had it not been for a little more encouragement on Leona’s part. As the prince made his way down the rows of athletes, meticulously checking off names and numbers, he came to a sudden and inevitable stop right in front of Riddle...and a certain group of wayward first years.

“You’re not listed as dorm representatives. The hell are you herbivores doing here?”

Riddle gave the pair an utterly deadpan stare, reminding them that they were going to receive no help from him. He watched the duo visibly swallow before Deuce managed to muster up his courage, despite the intensity of the lion’s glare. 

“W-we’re here to try out for the team.”

“Huh? What makes you think a bunch of shitty first years like you can do that?”

“But, Jack’s playing-”

“Jack is a regular on the Savannahclaw team.” Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Jack’s ears flatten against his skull, silently hoping to stay out of this mess. “None of you are on the dorm team. Did you even fill out the application forms? ”

“T-The...what?”

A low growl emanated from deep in the lion’s chest as his brows furrowed. “Oi, are you telling me you think you can walk onto my field and do whatever the hell you want?”

“But there’s no rules saying we can’t compete...” Ace muttered in a smaller, far less confident tone than the one he’d used on Riddle only minutes ago.

“Hah?!”

“He said, there’s no rules saying we can’t compete, stupid Leona!” Grimm abruptly exploded. “You’re not so tough, and you can’t bully us out of competing! We already beat you once before!”

A hushed gasp rippled through the field that was otherwise blanketed in pindrop silence. Somewhere to his right, he could hear Jade’s muffled chuckle, alongside Floyd’s far less subtle cackling. Riddle closed his eyes and suppressed a sigh. 

“Is that so?” Instead of losing his temper, Leona’s lips had stretched into a thin smile that looked deceptively amiable. Riddle however, had seen that sort of smile on one too many predators to be fooled. “If that’s the case then we should be able to settle this quickly. What position?”

“Eh? Ah, um….” The first years blinked, taken aback by the sudden turn in the dorm head’s personality. “Uh, Vanguard.”

A brief look of distaste flashed across Leona’s face at the realization that these upstarts really believed that they could steal his position.

“On the field. Now.”

The promise of a show to behold sent all semblance of order out the window, as everyone quickly clamoured along the sidelines to get a good view of Leona and the first years. Casually as ever, the third year tossed each of his challengers a disc. 

“I’ll give you herbivores a chance. If any one of you can score a shot past me, then you can play Vanguard”

“You’re on.” Ace declared confidently before glancing around. “So do we, uh, take turns?”

“Do whatever you want.” Leona yawned, already bored. 

The trio congregated for a moment in a flurry of whispers. When they pulled away, it was clear that they had decided their best chance of winning was if all of them took their shot. 

“He can’t block all of us at the same time!”

Unfortunately for them, everyone else already knew that Leona very well could. 

It wasn’t a wholly unimpressive effort on their part. Riddle thought that there was something to be said for Ace and Deuce making excellent additions to the Heartslabyul team in the future. Deuce’s brute strength practically turned his disc into a spinning plate of destruction, while Ace’s approach was admittedly well-calculated, making good use of his wind magic to alter the course of his throw. Even Grimm showed a surprising level of skill, using his tiny body to his advantage and darting forward in a haphazard route that made it hard to predict when and where he was going to make his shot. When he did, the disc was engulfed in a ball of bright blue flame. Had their opponent been literally anyone else, these tactics might have handed at least one of them the win. 

But Leona was not anyone else. Besting him once under less than ideal circumstances didn’t mean that they’d bested him forever. The school’s Magical Shift Captain had shifted into stance even before the trio had decided what action to take. Tail swaying and ears twitching, he stared down the incoming discs with an unshakeable calm that only a trained athlete fully in his element could have. Emerald eyes tracked his target until the perfect, opportune moment when the lion decided it was time to strike. 

It happened all at once, so fast that had he not been paying attention, Riddle would have missed the intricacies of what had happened completely. Despite how hard Deuce had thrown in, Leona caught the first frisbee effortlessly in one hand. Sparing not a single second, Leona spun around, lobbing the disc in his hand at the second one thrown by Ace that was already nearing the goal. Both discs collided, and yet somehow were sent on a trajectory that immediately put them both right back in Leona’s hands. The final disc too met it’s inevitable end in a fraction of a second as Leona leapt, slamming his foot right down onto the middle of the burning disc he couldn’t otherwise touch. With a well placed kick, the now extinguished disc flipped up into his hand. There had been absolutely no magic involved. Everything they had seen had been a display of pure, raw athleticism. 

“Did he just-?”

“Uwaaaaa, all three at the same time?!”

“Uh...what's he doing?”

It was silly of them, Riddle though, to wander so brazenly into a lion’s domain and not expect some sort of retaliation. By the time they registered what was happening, it was already too late. Leona had drawn back his arm with all three of their frisbees grasped in one hand. There was no time to turn tail and run, let alone hide, All the trio could do was grit their teeth as all three of their discs came hurtling right back at them with devastating accuracy and force. Leona’s aim was deadly, landing all three hits in the gut where it really hurt. 

“Still think you’re cut out to play on this team?” He asked, leaning over the fetal first-years with a smirk. 

“No, sir!” Deuce choked on the other’s behalf.

“Good. Now get the hell off my field.”

“Come on, lets get them out of there.” Trey winced as Riddle nodded in agreement. That humiliating display was more than punishment enough. The two of them, along with the Ramshackle prefect who had the good sense to stay out of the whole affair, dragged Deuce and Grimm away. In the meantime, Floyd had already helpfully come to the aid of his basketball junior. 

“Woah, Crabby, don’t die!” Floyd laughed as he helped hoist a groaning Ace up and off the field “See? I told you you’d get eaten.”

“Ughhhh, was he always that strong? There’s no way he was that strong.”

“Well, you did force him to prove a point by going after his position.” Trey pointed out. “Besides, you aren’t the first ones to think you can pull one over on him. Something similar to this happened last year too. It was pretty apparent how it was going to end."

“Well then why didn’t you say that first?!”

“Would that have stopped you?”

“Alright, show’s over.” Leona growled through the excited chattering of the crowd. Oddly enough, the third year looked a little less agitated than before, as if beating on a couple of helpless first years had helped him work out some of his pent-up aggression. “Ten minutes for warm-ups. Then proceed to your stations.”

\-----

“Aha~ The look on Crabby’s face, I can’t get it out of my head~” Floyd giggled as the athletes proceeded with their stretches. With those absurdly long limbs, the Leech twins seemed to take great pains to make sure that they were properly warmed up before they got on the field, especially since having legs didn’t come naturally to them.

“That’s enough of that.” Riddle chided, irked that this was now the fourth or fifth time that Floyd had broken out into spontaneous laughter. Granted, it was an amusing situation in many ways, but to some degree Riddle still did feel obligated to protect his juniors from this level of unnecessary mockery. “They’ve learnt their lesson, and you’ve laughed at them quite enough at this point.”

“Eehhhh, but I can’t help it if it’s funny~” Floyd complained before grinning widely. “It’s ok~ There’s lots of time to bully him during practice. Right, Sea Snake?” The Eel glanced up at Jamil Viper, who for some reason was now standing over him, arms crossed and glaring daggers. 

“Don’t you have something to say to me?”

Floyd blinked his mismatched eyes in confusion. “...Nope?”

“Not even a sorry?”

“For what?”

“Oh, I don’t know. For knocking me over like a bowling pin maybe?” Jamil snapped, one hand gesturing towards Kalim who stood behind him. Riddle noticed Trey’s mouth morph into a small ‘oh’, though he had the good sense to remain silent. “The both of us? Two nights ago?”

“Now now, Jamil.” Kalim interjected, laying a hand on his childhood friend’s shoulder. Ever the peacemaker. “I’m sure Floyd has a good reason for--”

“Wasn’t me.”

Silence. Kalim, who had been right in the middle of making excuses for Floyd, dropped his hand, looking absolutely bewildered. Jamil narrowed his eyes intently as Floyd stared blankly back at him.

“It...it wasn't you?”

“Nope~”

“Is there someone else over six feet tall with bright blue hair--”

“Jade, was it you?” Floyd said oh-so-innocently, turning to his twin. 

“--who calls us Sea Snake and Sea Otter?!”

“Hm, I don’t know~ I really think you’re mistaking me for someone else.”

“Well...if Floyd says it wasn’t him...” Kalim hummed thoughtfully despite the look of absolute indignance that Jamil was giving him. “We must have made some type of mistake!”

Riddle thought that it was quite a miracle that Jamil hadn't already popped a blood vessel. So this was what it was like to watch someone be on the receiving end of Floyd. 

“Kalim.” Jamil finally managed through gritted teeth, after several seconds of deep breathing. “Let's go. It’s about time we head to our first station.”

“Oh, ok! See you guys later!”

“Oh dear. Floyd, you’d better watch yourself.” Jade noted, sounding not the least bit concerned as he watched the Scarabian Vice-Dorm Head stalk off with visible anger. “He seems quite upset.”

“Eh, it’s fine. It’s just Sea Snake~ What’s he gonna do really?”

“Did he actually--?” Riddle started, quietly leaning over to Trey.

“Well...I didn’t see it but, I don’t doubt it.” Trey paused for a moment and smiled. “It was the night you were stuck in the pool.”

Oh. Right, come to think of it, Trey had mentioned that Floyd had taken off running. If he’d been in such a hurry that he’d knocked over Kalim and Jamil then...Riddle could only imagine how frantic he must have been. Once again, he felt that unfamiliar heat begin to creep up his neck, quickly focusing his attention back on completing his stretches. He wasn’t used to this, to having someone so intensely and obviously concerned about him. He wasn’t used to all these actions and emotions...all these things that Floyd was somehow constantly throwing at him. 

It wasn’t unpleasant though. Not this, at least. Riddle wasn’t quite sure what it was. 

“We should head out too.” He said at last, getting to his feet. “It looks like our team is more or less done warming up.”

“Ah, see you later Goldfish~!” Floyd waved cheerily. 

Riddle balled his fist and turned away, having caught himself on the verge of very nearly waving back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was once again cut in half from what I originally intended, primarily because I just wanted to get an update out there. I know that the contents of this chapter don't really add that much to the plot but really, I've just wanted to write something related to Magical Shift for awhile. So here's the sports arc that nobody asked for. 
> 
> Thank for reading as always. See you next update.


	7. Don't add Snakes to Your Aquarium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Goldfish really must be worried huh~?”
> 
> “I am not!” Riddle glared at that loathsome look of faux innocence, cheeks burning as if they'd been set on fire. Floyd’s mismatched eyes scrutinized his reddening face with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, as Riddle tired in vain to figure out what on earth his problem was. “Stop causing trouble for others.” 
> 
> “Hm…” The eel seemed to consider it, until a sly look crept across his features. “Don’t wanna~”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me.
> 
> In reality, I had most of this chapter written in late November, but I went through a period of time where I was both incredibly busy with my new job and just not quite in the mindset to keep writing this story. But at last, I've finished the chapter that will hopefully bring this little sports arc to a satisfactory conclusion.

For someone who was such an infamous slacker, it was easy to see that Magical Shift was the one thing that Leona Kingscholar actually did take seriously. Savannahclaw had gone to great lengths to ensure a thorough selection process, this year more so than usual. Perhaps it was because there was something to make up for this time; the inter-dorm competition had been a mess of their own making after all. Or, more specifically, of Leona’s making. After the humiliating retribution they’d experienced, it was little wonder they felt the need to earn some sort of redemption.

Tryouts this year consisted of two phases. First, all athletes were to complete a series of stations that assessed their basic athletic capabilities. Not all skills were relevant for every position, but everyone had to complete all the stations, just to get a holistic view of their capabilities. 

If Riddle had to rate his physical abilities, he wouldn’t have scored himself too badly. He was by no means the strongest or fastest athlete out there, but Magical Shift wasn’t a sport that relied entirely on athleticism. When it came to flying or his skill at magic, Riddle was second to none. Despite being a member of the Heartslabyul team, he had been unable to secure a position on the school team the previous year, though it hadn’t been all that surprising since he’d been a first year. Even today, Riddle didn’t hold any particular ambition. Whether or not he made it onto the team was no skin off his back. His duties as dorm leader dictated that he oversee his house during tryouts, nothing more. 

Still, the idea of putting less than his best effort into absolutely anything never sat well with him, partially because he could all but hear his mother’s disapproval ringing in his head. Besides, in some ways, he had his own pride to uphold.

“Sup’ Riddle,” Greeted the grinning Hyena who stood watch over the hovering flight course that had been set-up to test the athlete’s flying skills. Of course Ruggie was in charge of this station. As good as Riddle considered himself on a broom, he couldn’t hold a candle to someone who constantly hung upside down from one as if it was nothing. “Think you can beat last year's timing?”

Discerning eyes took in the course that had been set before him. It consisted of the same equipment they often used for flying practice with Vargas; hoops of varying sizes that could be enchanted to hover and move in specific patterns, alongside a hovering target board, used to practice casting spells midair. All one had to do was fly through the hoops and hit the target in the fastest possible timing. The difficulty of the course could vary vastly depending on how one adjusted the speed and movement patterns of the equipment. One look told Riddle that the course wasn’t an easy one. He could already see vast variations in the hoop size and movement speed, including a treacherous vertical drop followed by a sharp spike back up through a series of moving rings near the end of the course. The target was set up halfway, between rapidly moving rings that left no room to slow down or stop while aiming. Clearing it would take several very difficult maneuvers with impeccable timing.

“Even third years would have trouble running this.”

“Heh. Guess Leona really didn’t want to go easy this year.” Ruggie shrugged as the redhead mounted his broom, already mapping out the course in his head. “Ready? Set. Go!” 

A burst of air whipped his hair back as Riddle leaned forward as he accelerated upwards in a smooth arc that ended right as the first three rings aligned. He transitioned flawlessly into a series of rapid zig-zags upwards and sideways that would easily have left a less experienced flier dizzy, wasting minimal time as he whipped himself through alternating rings. Next came the target, and just after, the drop. Fingers of his left hand tightening around the shaft of the broom, he steadied himself as he turned himself upside down in a skillful loop. With a flick of the magical pen in his right hand, a burst of bright red flame shot out towards the target. Riddle didn’t pause to watch the spell meet its mark, pulling out of his loop into a vertical dive, yanking the broom up hard just in time to turn a whole ninety degrees into the final few hoops. He felt cold metal scrap against his arm at the very end, clicking his tongue in annoyance. 

An almost perfect run. Almost. 

“And, time! Eighteen seconds. Not too bad for a course like this.”

Not too bad, but Riddle knew he could probably have gone even faster. He made a mental note of things he clearly still needed to work on.

The rest of the stations proved to be nothing quite as exciting; running, goalkeeping, the usual basics that Riddle executed with a level of skill that was befitting of his station. Both himself and Trey finished fairly quickly, having gone through this process this time and time again. There was just enough time to take a break and rehydrate before the second phase.

“Haven’t you had enough?” Trey teased when they found the disgraced first years sitting in stands next to the athletes refreshments, watching on with envy at the event they had so unceremoniously been ejected from. 

“Nobody said we couldn’t watch.” Ace shot back grumpily, clearly still sore about their recent loss. “We’re not going to stay on the sidelines forever you know? There’s always tryout’s next year.” 

“So long as you obey the rules and approach it through proper channels, even Leona won’t have any issues with you.” Riddle reminded them as he reached for a water bottle. It had barely been an hour since they’d started, but already his sweat drenched clothes were beginning to stick uncomfortably to his skin. 

“Come to think of it, there’s something that’s bothering me.” Ace piped up as their seniors sat down beside them. “Did the Magishift rules change or something? I don’t see anyone using unique magic. My brother used to talk about some pretty wild things happening on the field back in his time.”

“Ah, that’s a pretty good observation.” Trey agreed between sips of water. “Yes, it used to be fairly common to see players using their Unique Magic some time back. But two or so years ago, it was banned across the sport, just because of how uneven it made the playing field. Unique Magics come in all forms, and some really don’t lend themselves to the concept of fair play. Could you imagine if someone like Azul walked onto the field and offered to grant player’s wishes in exchange for the championship? It would be the end of sportsmanship as we know it.”

“Or Dorm Head Riddle’s ability.” Deuce added thoughtfully. “It does seem pretty unfair to allow something that cancels out the opponent's magic entirely.”

“Some professional leagues still allow it though.” Trey added. “Those are the ones that can get really flashy, But most have made amendments to their rules by now.”

“And for the better. An over reliance on one's unique magic can turn a valuable asset into a crutch.” Riddle explained. “Instead of honing their abilities, athletes with strong unique magics end up relying on them too much and never truly grow.”

“Well, I guess if you put it that way...”

“Make use of this opportunity to pay close attention to your seniors.” Their dorm head advised. “You could learn a skill or or two from simply watching what they do.”

Just as the words left him, as if by design a loud burst of cheering and whooping erupted from across the field. The source of the chaos, they very quickly discovered, was one Floyd Leech in the midst of his flying trial. At first, Riddle couldn’t quite figure out what all the fuss was about, until he realized that Floyd’s position looked rather precarious as he rounded off on the target. But even knowing that something wasn’t right couldn’t have prepared for the moment when the Eel raised both his hands above his head and threw himself off the broom.

“Don’t--!”

The cry left his lips on instinct, even though he was much too far for Floyd to actually hear him. And even if he wasn’t, it would have been far too late. Riddle could practically feel his heart in his throat as the Eel plummeted through the rings towards the ground below, swallowing a scream. Out of nowhere, Floyd’s broom shot by and long arms clung on just enough to drag him through the final hoop before both broom and rider went skidding across the ground.

He hadn’t even realized he’d been holding his breath. Floyd’s distant laughter was still ringing in his ears, his head spinning as if it was him instead of the Eel that had just thrown himself into freefall. Still shaken, looked back at the first years, only to see their eyes widened in completely unwarranted awe. 

“That’s--”

“No.” Riddle interrupted before any of them could add another word.

“But--!”

“I said, no.” He hissed sharply, eyebrows furrowed in a look of intense disapproval. “There’s a difference between skill and recklessness. I should hope that you don’t need me to tell you which of the two that was.”

Unfortunately, they weren’t the only ones that couldn’t tell the difference.

“Goldfish~” The maniac in question came bounding over with a guileless grin. "Did you see that? Wasn’t it amazing? Sandshark said I got the best time so far~”

Riddle willed himself to steady his breathing as he walked over to meet Floyd halfway, his heart still beating like a jackhammer in his chest. With a look filled with nothing but distaste, he met the Eel’s bragging with nothing but icy admonishment. “There was nothing amazing about that whatsoever. ”

“Booooo, that’s mean.” Floyd instantly pouted in disappointment. “I actually tried hard you know.”

“Which part of that involved trying hard?!”

“It’s harder than it looks you know!” Floyd insisted. “You gotta time it just right, or you’re gonna go splat~”

Splat? How on earth could he be so flippant about potentially falling to his demise? Riddle could not have looked more incredulous. 

“Why does trying hard have to involve putting yourself in mortal danger?” Riddle shot back, his blood boiling. An ordinary person would at least have some semblance of self preservation, so it was absolutely maddening that the very concept seemed to be non-existent to Floyd Leech. From that smug look on his face, he didn’t seem to have a clue why his wild antics were so upsetting. “There are plenty of ways to complete a flying course without risking your life.”

“Aw, was Goldfish worried~?” 

“What? No, I--” The denial left him so fast and completely by instinct that he barely even had time to register the question. By that point, he noticed that Floyd’s expression had shifted, an entirely blank look replacing his self-satisfied smirk. 

“Eeeeeeeeh...” Was it just him, or did he detect a slight edge to Floyds voice that hadn’t been there earlier? Before Riddle could really put his finger on it, the eel stretched his arms above his head and carried on dismissively. “Aha~ That was fun though, I want to do it again.”

“Don’t,” Riddle warned, horrified. “You’re setting a bad example for the first years.”

“Did they want to learn~?” Floyd shot back with a grin, starting to cup one hand around his mouth ``Hey, Crabby~!”

“Floyd--!”

Riddle’s hand catching his wrist was what finally gave the Eel pause. But while Floyd dropped his hand, the sly smile that never meant anything good refused to wipe itself off his face. 

“We’re only halfway through tryouts Goldfish, there’s still plenty of time to do something even more impressive.”

“Like I said, there’s nothing impressive about--”

“Ah, Jade’s done~”

And then he was gone, just as suddenly as he had arrived, like a hurricane that left nothing but wreckage in its wake. The wreckage, in this case, being Riddle’s sanity. He should have expected as much. He’d let his guard down, having gotten used to Floyd’s behavior being more tolerable than usual lately. He should have expected that the eel would eventually slip back to being his usual chaotic self. Thin fingers pressed against aching temples as Riddle reminded himself that he’d only have to put up with this for another hour or so before tryouts were done. Just one more hour of enduring Floyd’s whimsy before he could retire to his dorm in peace.

God help him.

Phase two of the process began once the potential athletes had been narrowed down slightly; anyone who didn’t perform up to Leona’s expectations was ruthlessly eliminated. The second stage consisted of a series of fifteen minute mock matches, where every athlete had to play at least once in their favored position. Teams were, in part, pre-arranged with what info was already available on the athletes from dorm team records and previous tryouts. Leona would make on-the-spot changes depending on their performance in the first half. 

“We’re one short on this one.” Riddle watched Ruggie tap his clipboard when it was finally his turn to play. Leona’s eyes swept the stands until they at last came to rest on an unlikely figure.

“Floyd Leech, Wanna try cavalry this time?”

“Eh? Me?” The eel in question asked, pointing to himself in surprise. “I play infantry though?”

“It’s fine to mix it up once in awhile isn’t it?” Leona tossed a broom at him. “You’re not too bad in the air. I wanna see what you can do.”

Something about the offer must have piqued Floyd’s interest because a shark-tooth grin spread across his face as he caught the broom with one hand, sending Riddle’s heart plummeting to the depths of his stomach with dread.

Fifteen minutes. All he had to do was survive fifteen minutes, and then he could go about the rest of his day in peace. So why did that suddenly feel like such an impossible task?

Riddle didn’t know if it was a small blessing, or the exact opposite, that Floyd and himself were on separate teams. Instead, he found himself handing out bright red bibs with Jamil, who notably also held a broom in one hand. 

“Did you always play Cavalry?” Riddle asked as Jamil shook his head. 

“I played Infantry. But Scarabia’s team was lacking strong fliers this year, so I switched.” 

That was quite the difference. Infantry players ferried the disc across the field entirely on foot, while Cavalry players weren’t allowed to come into direct contact with disc at all. Instead, they made use of their brooms and spellcasting to interfere with the other team's ability to score. How they did so was entirely up to their own creativity. To switch playing positions completely was no small feat; the fact that Jamil had less than a year’s experience and still made it to the second round of tryouts said something for his skill. It never failed to impress him just how reliable the Scarabian Vice Dorm Leader was in every regard. 

Unlike a certain someone else. 

“Goldfish~” Greeted the eel in the bright blue bib, casually leaning against his broom as Riddle found his starting position. “It looks like we’re both playing. Too bad we’re not on the same team~”

“Floyd.” He started cautiously, leftover warning bells from their earlier conversation still ringing in his head. “You’re not planning on doing anything foolish, are you?”

“Hm, I don’t know~?” The other hummed with infuriating cheer. “Depends on what you mean by foolish?”

“You know exactly what I mean.” Riddle hissed, as he once again felt the blood rushing to his face. Was this karma for standing by in silence when Floyd had played dumb with Jamil earlier? God, this was infuriating!

“Do I~? Goldfish really must be worried huh~?”

“I am not!” Riddle glared at that loathsome look of faux innocence, cheeks burning as if they'd been set on fire. Floyd’s mismatched eyes scrutinized his reddening face with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, as Riddle tired in vain to figure out what on earth his problem was. “Stop causing trouble for others.” 

“Hm…” The eel seemed to consider it, until a sly look crept across his features. “Don’t wanna~”

“Excuse m--?”

“Positions!” Leona called across the field. On the verge of tearing his hair out, Riddle reluctantly mounted his broom, feeling the dread grow within him every passing second. Fifteen minutes, he reminded himself, drawing a breath. Just fifteen minutes. 

The shriek of the whistle signaled the start of the game. Possession started on the side of the red team, the disc instantly whizzing from player to player as bursts of elemental magic went flying across both sides. The air above the field was now his domain, as Riddle readied his pen and took aim. There many strategies that Cavalry players often employed, but Riddle preferred using his precise spellcasting to his advantage and making his plays at a distance. It was always easier to take the opponent off guard when they couldn’t immediately locate where your attacks were coming from, not to mention it was much harder for players stuck on the ground to reliate. Of course, there was also the complete opposite strategy, which involved getting up close and interfering with your opponent more directly. 

No points for guessing whose strategy of choice that was. 

Chaos erupted as their frontline went scattering, a streak of blue rocketing so close to the players that it was a miracle that someone's head hadn’t already been taken off. Floyd Leech was cackling maniacally as he turned wild corkscrews in midair. 

“No contact~” He yelled back at opponents who were quick to call out cries of foul. There was no sound of a whistle, which meant Leona didn’t see anything wrong with the play either. Then again, Savannahclaw had never seen anything wrong with skirting the lines when it came to the rules. 

To no one's surprise, the blue team took an early goal, Floyd’s mayhem reaping immediate results for his team. As much as Riddle hated his methods, he had to admit that it was proving effective. 

“That’s going to be a problem.” Jamil pulled up next to him, sounding every bit as annoyed as Riddle felt. “We need to keep him airbound next round.” 

“I’ll flank from the left.” Riddle agreed with a nod.

Play resumed from the center, the team that just scored handing over possession of the disc to the other side. Predictably, the moment play began, Floyd pulled into a sharp dive towards the ground, only to find Riddle swerving straight into his path. With a yelp the eel pulled up and Riddle’s heart skipped a beat when he noticed Floyd start to slip backwards off his broom, just before he caught himself firmly with both hands.

“Slow down! Stop being so--!”

Jamil cut in from the right, a volley of magic chasing Floyd as he pulled into a loop and swooped under Riddle so quickly and recklessly that the redhead barely had time to react. Floyd ran wild zig-zags over the field, stray blasts of magic raining down on unfortunate players as they missed their mark. One jet of light shot straight for Floyd’s left shoulder, before bouncing off of him and careening off into a completely different direction. The shrill call of the whistle brought play to an immediate halt.

“Leech, no unique magic! Penalty to red!”

“Aaaah, whoops~”

This was insanity, Riddle thought, even as his team evened the score with the penalty. Never in his life had he felt so stressed by a mere sporting match. For now, the rules of the match stood between him and a collar around Floyd’s neck. But the instant the game was over, the first words out of his mouth were going to be ‘Off with your head’. 

The third time they resumed play, he could practically hear Jamil grinding his teeth beside him, a sentiment of slipping sanity that he could honestly relate to. Blue assumed control of the disc and Jamil rightly assumed that Floyd would attempt yet another maniac dive. This time, the Eel expected opposition, and smoothly rolled out of the way of a blast of magic, righting himself and spinning back to face his opponent with a full blown grin. 

“Too slow, Sea Snake~” Floyd taunted, sticking his tongue out. 

That seemed to be the last straw. Jamil dived, and Floyd did the opposite and zoomed straight upwards, velocity leaving them only a hair's breadth away from collision when they passed. Riddle threw himself into the fray and a full blown chase broke out between the three fliers, magic flying haphazardly back and forth as Floyd’s broomtails remained just out of reach. Riddle leaned forward, frustration mounting alongside his speed with every provoking glance Floyd would send back at them over his shoulder, a self-satisfied smirk plastered across his stupid face as he enjoyed himself at their expense. In that moment, all Riddle wanted was for this wild goose chase to be over. 

Jamil cut sharply into the eel’s path, forcing him to make a sharp and dangerous swerve to avoid a collision. Riddle saw his opportunity and flicked his pen, a powerful burst of wind magic colliding heavily with the it’s target as all at once, Floyd lost his hold on the broom. Realization seemed to find it’s way onto the eel’s face in slow motion as Riddle watched his body slip sideways with creeping horror. Long legs found their hold on the broom handle as Floyd’s knees locked, leaving him hanging precariously upside-down in mid-air. Before Riddle could so much as remember to breathe, an ominous red glow of magic brough the panic back in full force. Jamil’s face seemed twisted in the firelight of the half-formed spell, as Riddle felt himself rocketing forwards while a desperate yell broke from his lips. 

“Wait, wait--!!”

A tongue of flame emerged from Jamil’s pen, twisting into the image of a serpent that bore its fangs as it struck. The last thing he saw was Floyd’s eyes go wide as a streak of red threw itself in front of him, only to be engulfed in flames. Riddle felt the scorching heat beat against his clothes and continued his rapid descent until he crashed to the ground in an utterly ungraceful heap, his ears ringing and his clothes ablaze. 

“Dorm Head Riddle!”

“Oh sh-- he’s still on fire!”

“Put it out!! Somebody get some water!!”

“Water? Do you need some water?”

Amidst the chaotic cacophony of voices, Riddle barely managed to register the imminent danger of water. Before he could find the strength to protest, the ominous sound of falling rain descended from above. 

“Oi! Floyd Leech!”

Having already braced himself for the inevitable as a sheet of wet droplets fell across his skin, Riddle did not at all expect to feel himself scooped up in a bundle of clothes just as the transformation hit. Under the cover of darkness, he could just barely hear a chorus of angry yelling growing steadily distant as he was unwittingly ferried further away. Demands and angry questions died in his oxygen deprived throat, and it was only when he felt the cool comfort of water embrace his newly formed gills that he finally found his voice again. But before the angry tirade could leave him, another voice cut him off, worried yelling echoing around him with ear-splitting ferocity.

“Goldfish, Goldfish, can you hear me? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Riddle blinked-- well, he would have if he actually had eyelids. His new environment filled his vision with an unpleasant luminous green, the result of being in a sizable opaque container that opened up at the top. Mismatched eyes peered in from above where Floyd was practically shouting down at him through the opening. Whatever he was in, it carried sound terribly and the eel’s voice trembled and shook the waters of Riddle’s makeshift home. 

“Yes, yes, I can hear you! Stop screaming!” The redhead yelled back. It was only then that Floyd finally fell quiet. “Where am I? What is this?” 

“Gardening shed. Watering can.” Riddle felt the waters shift and slosh about as two long shadows pressed against the sides of the can. Looking up at the eel’s neck and face, he realized that Floyd had shifted positions, hugging the can close to his chest. “Sea otter made it rain to put out the fire.”

“I thought as much.” Riddle sighed, swimming in slow circles, letting the calm wash over his frazzled nerves. He was still angry, yes, but everything had happened so fast and all at once that he’d barely had time to register the flurry of emotions that had come over him. He cast another glance upwards at Floyd who was being uncharacteristically quiet, though he thankfully didn’t look to be hurt. 

“You didn’t get hit by the fire did you?” A decisive shake of the head and Riddle let out a sigh of relief. “Well...good.” 

“Why’d you get in the way?” The question came so sharply and suddenly that Riddle nearly jumped at the forcefulness with which it was asked. Floyd’s expression had morphed from pensive to visibly upset, the corners of his mouth pulled into a distinct downturn as he frowned. “You didn’t have to.”

If he was being honest, Riddle really didn’t know why his first instinct had been to throw himself into the line of fire. Floyd was right in saying he didn’t have to. In hindsight, he could have easily deflected the attack or countered with some type of spell. And yet, in that instant the thought had never even occurred to him. All he remembered was the feeling of fear consuming him at the thought of watching Floyd plummet to the ground in flames. For some reason, the mere thought had robbed him of all his sensibilities. Somehow, he felt just as confused as Floyd sounded. 

“...You were going to fall.”

“So? You got set on fire.”

“Well I’m fine, aren’t I? All I got was a few charred clothes. It’s better than you breaking an arm.” Or worse. But Riddle couldn't bring himself to say that. 

“Goldfish said you didn’t care--”

“Of course I care.” Came the sigh of pure exasperation as he began to swim in rapid, agitated circles. “Why on earth would I want to see you get hurt? Why don’t you have any sense of self-preservation? Why do you always insist on constantly putting yourself in danger? Do you understand how it makes people around you feel?!” If he still had cheeks they would have been glowing bright red with rage. “”

“...oh.”

“Oh! Is that all you have to say? Oh?” Riddle retorted, incredulous. ‘You ignore me when I tell you time and time again not to be reckless, and you go out of your way to antagonise Jamil--“

“I don’t really care about Sea Snake.” Floyd interrupted, scrunching up his nose. “But Goldfish got in trouble cause of me. Again.”

Again. That level of self awareness wasn’t something that Riddle had expected from Floyd. There was plenty more that he wanted to say, but the eel sounded so utterly miserable that any desire to continue chewing his own died on the spot. Instead the dorm head let out an exasperated huff.

“Well...it’s no use being aware of your mistakes if you do nothing about it.” 

“...Sorry.” The apology was soft and very, very unhappy, but it was still there. The downturned corners of Floyd’s mouth slowly pulled taunt, as the frown morphed into the beginnings of a pronounced pout. “But y’know, Goldfish. If you just said you were worried, I would’ve listened.”

“That--” Riddle’s fins stuttered mid-stroke, stalling mid-swim as he was taken aback by the sudden accusatory edge to the eel’s tone. A vague memory of all the times he’d insisted he wasn’t worried for Floyd’s safety popped into his head and he instantly felt the urge to turn defensive. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything!”

“If Goldfish was honest in the first place, I would’ve listened.” Floyd repeated, pouting even harder. “But Goldfish kept saying he wasn’t worried, no matter what I did...”

Something about the way Floyd said that triggered something in Riddle’s memory, a vague recollection of how the eel had always gone to great lengths to win his attention, be it good or bad. He looked up at Floyd’s oversized face in disbelief, barely able to form the next few words that left him.

“Floyd...did you….were you doing all that on purpose?” There was a soft sound from the other second year and mismatched eyes pointedly looked away. Riddle flicked his fantail against the water. “Did you want me to say I was worried?”

This time, there was no hiding the ghost of a smile that tugged at Floyd’s lips. “May~be~”

“You-- are just-- absolutely--!!”

“You promised you’d be nicer.”

“On the condition that you didn’t keep trying to make me angry!” And oh, Riddle was certainly angry. Though, there was a faint sense of something else alongside the familiar anger, a feeling that was far softer and less antagonistic. It was something that Riddle couldn’t quite put his finger on. He never imagined that Floyd’s attention seeking exploits would stretch to this extent. Why was it so important to wrest that sort of acknowledgement from Riddle anyway? The more he thought about it, the stranger he seemed to feel. “Once we get out of here, you’re going to apologize to Jamil for antagonizing him. And to Kalim for knocking him over the other day. And then, you’re going to fix my gym uniform that was damaged because of your recklessness. Is that understood?”

“Yes.” Came the obedient reply, with no hint of protest or unhappiness. Riddle hummed in satisfaction and eased back into swimming slowly about the shallow waters, realizing they still had about an hour left to kill. 

“You...fly very well though.” Riddle admitted, thinking back to the unparalleled frustration of having to chase Floyd across the Magical Shift field. Recklessness aside, Riddle couldn’t deny his methods were effective. “For someone who's not been flying for that long, I mean. Didn’t you only start last year?”

“Hm? Yeah!” Floyd replied, brightening at the praise, forlorn expression sliding away in an instant. “Flying’s fun! You can do all kinds of things in the air that you can’t do on the ground, or in the sea. Jade doesn't like it though. He thinks it’s scary.” He snickered. “Not as much as Azul though.” 

Anyone who had ever had the pleasure of seeing the Octavinelle Dorm Head during flying practice would be all too familiar with the trembling visage that emerged whenever he held a broom in his hand. 

“I imagine it’s pretty scary for someone who's spent all their life at sea.” Riddle reasoned, though Floyd seemed to be the exception to the rule in that regard. “It’s probably the same in reverse for a lot of people. Many humans are afraid of the water because it’s unfamiliar territory.”

“Eeeeeeeeeeh, but there’s nothing scary about swimming.” Floyd protested, looking surprised. “Can’t you swim, Goldfish? You’re not afraid of the water.”

“Yes, but...I don’t know about the sea.” The thought of swimming above inky black waters that led to endless depths, home to countless unseen creatures...Riddle shuddered. “The idea is...a little intimidating. I’ve never done it myself, but I’ve read that tides make seawater more difficult to navigate than a pool--”

“It’s not that hard! I’ll teach you! It’s really easy~”

“Easy for you to say.” Riddle scoffed, though there was a hint of amusement in his voice at how the eel’s voice lit up with excitement. He had the aura of a child that had just been asked to show off his best skill at a talent show. 

“I’m serious! If Goldfish doesn't believe me then let’s go to the beach and I’ll show you! All you have to do is--”

That day, the hour-long transformation sped by faster than he realized. By the end of it, Riddle’s anger had all but died out, replaced by a small, blossoming emotion that he still couldn’t quite name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I'm being honest, updates from me will likely be sparse, but I will still be writing and updating when I can. 
> 
> As always, thank you for reading. See you next update.

**Author's Note:**

> Ever since the cringe-inducing fics of my teenage years, I had sworn never to touch my keyboard for such purposes ever again. Leave it to the existence of Disney anime boys to make me break my solemn vow.
> 
> This rambling nonsense was the result of me waking up one day thinking, what terrible things could happen if for some reason, Riddle was turned into an actual goldfish. I don't really see this being any longer than ten chapter, maximum. But really, that depends on how many horrible scenarios I can think of. 
> 
> Till next update.


End file.
